Lonely People
by TakeMeOrLeaveMe2010
Summary: A sequel to "Eleanor Rigby." The story begins where "Eleanor Rigby" left off and deals with Max and Ellie's increasingly problematic relationship, Max Jr.'s wanting to join the Army, and Michelle's boyfriend's deteriorating health. Please read and review.
1. Happy Anniversary

**Agh, I just couldn't let it go. :D**

**Just as a warning to those who were faithful readers of "Eleanor Rigby," this one's going to be a little darker. The whole story deals with Ellie and Max in their forties or so, around where "Eleanor Rigby" left off, and how they've kind of hit a glitch. Like, they still love each other, but the "magic" isn't quite there anymore, you know?**

**It won't be completely angst, there will be funny moments/chapters, but it won't be nearly as lighthearted as the first one. I'm trying to make this more of a realistic sequel of some sorts.**

**It probably won't be forty chapters long, either. Probably being the key word.**

**I hope you still enjoy it. I really appreciated all of the feedback and reviews of "Eleanor Rigby," and it'd be great to hear from you guys again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Across the Universe of any of its characters. The only characters I own are Ellie, Max Jr., and Michelle (and perhaps a few other cameos).**

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"Happy Anniversary to you! Happy Anniversary to you! Happy Anniversary dear Max and Ellie…_Happy Anniversary to you!"_

The group of friends whistled and clapped. Jude drummed on the table, singing in a rumbling bass: "And…many…_more_…"

Max Carrigan, a forty-year old man who still liked to act like he was twenty, gave his English friend a bit of a shove, an arm still wrapped freely around his wife, Ellie. He smiled in the glowing light of the fifteen candles in the cake made for them by their former landlady, now rock-and-roll superstar Sadie. The couple shared an amused glance, then blew out the candles.

"You know, it's not our birthdays or anything. I still don't know why you did this," Ellie coughed through the smoke, her loose, dark ponytail bobbing as she shook her head.

"Hon, you know neither me nor Jo could come on either of your birthdays," interjected Sadie, pulling out a butter knife and beginning to cut the dessert into slices. "It was hard enough getting here without being hoarded by paparazzi…we wanted to do something special while we were here."

"Besides," Sadie continued, raising a devious eyebrow. "It was a good excuse to get the kids out of the house."

"Believe me, they didn't need to be told twice," Lucy chuckled.

"Damn kids…" grumbled Max, rolling his eyes. "You'd think they assume adults get all the free time in the world."

"Oh, stop your griping and eat your cake."

"Gladly." He immediately brightened as a thick, moist slice was handed to him. Not even bothering to wait for a fork, he dug out a piece of it with his fingers and stuffed it in his mouth, licking the tips of his fingers as he did so.

His wife sent him a withering stare. He looked around, mumbling "What?" with such innocence, she couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Please excuse our table manners. Clearly we haven't graduated from the third grade," she said sardonically, handing him a fork.

"Yes, dear," he groaned, flouncing off to the living room, Jude and JoJo following once they got their cake. The three women sat around the table, conversing lightly.

"Speaking of birthdays…" Lucy started, taking a bite. "I've been wondering if perhaps it's time we got Michelle a car. She's always working at the diner or hanging out with friends, and I'm sick of driving her around everywhere."

"Any reason not to?"

"Well," she sighed, pushing blonde bangs out of her face. "We're a bit strapped for cash these days…everything's been getting progressively more expensive. But I'm sure we could find something we could afford. It wouldn't be anything fantastic, but she'd have to understand."

"And, then there's the gas money, car repair money, and the general freedom issue…"

"'Chelle's a good kid. She may be stubborn, but I'm sure she'd be safe," Sadie advised. "And I'm sure if she abused any of her freedom, you could take it right away from her and she'd whip into shape faster than you can say 'paying for your own gas.'"

Lucy grinned. "I suppose you're right. Jude's so lax, though. That's the problem. I'm not sure he'd be able to take that car away as easily as I could."

Sadie gave a small shrug, a gesture indicating a "what can you do?". She then noticed that Ellie had been mostly silent during their conversation. She turned to her, running her fingers through thick, untamable curls as she gave her friend a light kick under the table.

"Hey, cheer up, sweet pea," she said with a small smile. "It's your anniversary."

Ellie returned the smile, but something in her big, brown eyes showed something was wrong.

"You look beat," Sadie continued with concern. "Everything alright?"

The African-American woman nodded slowly after a few moments. "Yeah…I'm fine. I've been working a lot lately, eight hours of sleep never seems like enough."

"Mm…well, welcome to the life of a mother, I guess," she said. She glanced at the clock. "I hate to say it, but me and Jo better head out. I told the guys to keep us on the down low until ten, but they said they were only positive they could keep us hidden until nine thirty. I love you all more than anything, but I'm not particularly fond of landing on the front page of _Enquirer_."

The two other women nodded. Sadie and Jo's hectic schedule and fame made it difficult to see them privately, so visits like this were precious. They had come earlier that evening and once Max Jr. and Michelle had left, the six went out to dinner at Katz's and then came back to the apartment for a small party. So, all in all, it had been a nice, long stay.

Sadie got up from the table and sauntered into the living room, motioning to her partner that it was time for them to split. A few protests came from the other two men, but the sultry songstress was firm. After kisses goodbye and promises to call, the dynamic duo rushed out the door.

Ellie had just begun to clean up the few dirty dishes when she saw her husband along with Jude slipping on their coats.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Just going out for a few drinks, that's all," Max answered, shoving a corduroy cap that was fraying and tearing from age over his mop of hair. "We'll be back in an hour or two."

"Don't worry, El," Jude assured, giving her and Lucy a kiss on the cheek. "We'll have 'im home in time for the traditional anniversary sex." He gave her a wink and a wicked grin.

She only smiled nonchalantly, but other thoughts were whirling in her head. She was secretly begging for Max to come home sober enough for them to have sex that both of them actually enjoyed. Her late nights at work and he rarely being less than hammered when she had a night off caused a serious dent in their sex life, and it was getting to the point where something had to give.

Max kissed his sister's cheek and gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips before trailing after his best friend. Lucy shot her a sympathetic look and gave her arm a squeeze as she passed her, picking up the cleaning duties. Ellie tried to help her, but the blonde refused.

"El, go relax. You could use it."

"So could you."

"You can wash the dishes on my anniversary, how about that? Seriously, follow the guys and have a good time for once."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, merely shuffling into the living room and collapsing on the couch. She sighed and tuned out the song on the radio Lucy had turned on, becoming lost in her own thoughts.

Her best friend had a point. She did need to loosen up and have some fun. Besides tonight, she couldn't remember the last time she had gone out with any of her friends, let alone her own husband. She was always working, working, working, and when she got home, she was too exhausted to do much more than sleep. When Max Jr. was ten, Max lost his job at the construction company he had been working at for seven years. That had been a devastating blow to Carrigan's income and Ellie had been trying ever since then to make up for it by staying as late as she could at the diner. Even though Max swore this wasn't true, it seemed the family was living from paycheck to paycheck and they never had enough money for something.

Still, she was thankful for the roof over their heads, the heat and window air conditioning, the fact that she was the manager at the diner and not just a waitress, and the food that the Carrigan and Feeney family shared. And though her relationship with both her husband and her son felt like it wore thin sometimes, she was ungodly thankful for them, too.

The door to the apartment opened and in stumbled Max Jr. and Michelle, both laughing and talking.

"Hi, Aunt Ellie!" greeted Michelle, taking off her coat and adjusting the headband in her wavy, brunette head of hair. Despite Michelle and Lucy sounding very similar on the phone, she had inherited most of her father's genes. Although, she did have her mother's blue eyes. "Hopefully, we're not interrupting anything."

"Not at all. How was the movie?"

"Crappy," Max Jr. responded for her. Of course, he closely resembled his father, but he did have Ellie's brown eyes. Michelle sighed in exasperation, giving him a little nudge.

"It wasn't _crappy_, actually, it was anything but. You just have no sense of depth."

"I go to movies be entertained, not to have moral shit thrown at me."

His cousin muttered inaudibly under breath as she left to go say hello to her mother, grumbling something about "boys and their lack of wanting to learn anything." Ellie grinned. There were moments when the two teenagers acted very much like their sibling parents. Michelle had Lucy's passion and Max Jr. had Max's apathy. This definitely caused many arguments. However, it wasn't always like that. Michelle would fight until the sun came up, but her mother would choose her battles wisely. Max Jr., being slightly more mild-mannered than his father, would either give up or give in eventually, something his father would never do.

Her son looked around the empty room, then at his mother. "Where's Dad? Isn't it like, your anniversary or something?" She laughed a little at his unintentional ignorance.

"Yes, it is our anniversary or something…he went out with your uncle. God knows when they'll be back."

"Wow..." Michelle said as she reentered the room, a plate with a piece of cake in her hand. "What an asshole. If Jake ever did something like that to me, I'd end it."

Lucy shot her daughter a death glare as she came into sight from the kitchen. "I'm sure your aunt appreciates your relationship advice, but could you be _slightly_ less rude about it?"

"Luce, it's fine, I know she was just kidding," Ellie cut in, chuckling and getting up from the couch. "Don't worry, 'Chelle. I've got a pretty good reign on him."

"Of course, of course." Michelle looked down her feet, guilt seeping through her body. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to say-"

"I know, sweetheart. No harm done." She kissed the top of her head, then looked up at her friend. "I'm going to bed, I'm beat. But I'll see you all in the morning?"

She gave Lucy, Michelle, and Max Jr. a kiss then padded into the bedroom she shared with Max. She got ready for bed, only pulling on a t-shirt over her bare form for pajamas, and settled into her bed. As she stared up at the dark ceiling, she could help but hear Michelle's words swirling in her mind:

"_Wow…what an asshole. If Jake ever did something like that to me, I'd end it."_

She couldn't believe she was being affected by what her sixteen-year old niece had said without thinking, but she had to admit, Michelle had a point. Why had she let her husband go out with his friend on their anniversary night? Didn't she deserve some alone time with him?

Ellie cursed herself for not having the balls to say anything, although she remembered at the time, she hadn't seen anything wrong with the situation. Honestly, these days the couple saw very little of each other.

She rolled over onto her side, the only light in the room coming from the moon peeking through the blinds. The dull, somewhat numb ache in the pit of her stomach, her consistent weariness, and the fact she was oblivious to letting her husband hang out with friends on their anniversary night could only mean one thing. She had finally hit what every married couple was doomed to experience. That stuck, drifting period when you still genuinely care enough for your spouse that getting a divorce seems silly and out-of-the question, but the only aspects of life the two of you have together are living under the same roof and sharing the same bed. That feeling that nothing and everything is wrong, and you don't know why.

She loved Max and she couldn't imagine herself being married to anyone else. But that was part of the problem. Why couldn't she? Was Max truly her soul mate or was he the only one who would even be interested in her?

Aside from these things, Ellie mostly wondered:

_Why the hell am I questioning everything all of a sudden?_

She supposed it was partly because that after fifteen years of marriage, she was finally coming to the realization that she and her friends weren't twenty-one years old anymore, living vicariously through life without a care in the world. No money for rent? No problem, Sadie could take care of it for this month. Having a really shitty day? Go out for a party at Café Huh? or maybe trip out with a few other tenants back at the apartment. Most problems, albeit Max post-Vietnam, could be solved with LSD, parties, or occasional phases when they actually had to work.

But it wasn't 1969 anymore. It was 1985 and while the friends had desperately tried to keep up with the times, the world was changing at completely different speed. Prudence, dear Prudence, was traveling with a local circus the last they'd heard. The last any of them had seen her was six years ago. Jude had seen a pretty Asian girl, although she did have a few bruises on her face, on the subway. When they had met eyes and her lips turned upward ever so slightly, he knew it was her. But when he tried to catch her at the stop, she was gone.

Sadie and JoJo managed to not change their style and still become famous. With the British Invasion, music producers at the time were desperate for an authentic rock sound that was completely American.

They tried to call as often as they could, but when the friends tried calling back, they had to get through publicists, agents, and secretaries before they could get five minutes with one of them. The other four had grown up, started family, and moved to Brooklyn, where the rent was half as expensive and the apartments were twice the size.

Ellie groaned inwardly, thinking she had no reason to be dissatisfied. She needed to get over her petty problems and face the fact that she was a responsible adult. She thought she had done that years ago, but apparently, the thought hadn't hit her until now.

But she could still have her fun. This was her anniversary, for Christ's sake. Wheels spinning in her head, she leaped out of bed and searched on her nightstand for a piece of paper and pen. Once she found them, she scribbled this note:

_Meet me in the shower._

_-El_

She smiled as she left on the bed, heading towards the bathroom that was connected to their bedroom. She pulled her t-shirt off, turned the water to pleasantly warm, and stepped in, exhaling in relief as the soothing liquid ran over her tired body.

One thing Max could never resist was making love in any kind of water. Whether it be in the shower, the ocean, or a pool (late at night, of course), he loved it. Hell, if it hadn't been for the shitty shower at Sadie's place and his lack of observational skills, the two of them wouldn't have met. That wasn't entirely true, they would've met eventually, but their first meeting wouldn't have been nearly as interesting.

She hummed a little song about nothing as she stood in the shower, perfectly content for the first time in a while. This would be it. This would be the spark that would get them out of that dreadful drifting stage and back to where they were, the careless twentysomethings who wanted nothing but love.

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Ellie shivered as the cold water rained down her head. She furrowed her brows and bit her lip in frustration. She had no idea how long she had been in here, but she knew it had to be more than an hour.

_Where was he?_

There was no doubt he was home, as she got in the shower around eleven. He had work tomorrow morning and so did Jude, so they would've had to have gotten in before midnight.

Was he playing hard to get? This wouldn't be anything unusual, but leaving her waiting in this increasingly freezing shower was cruel, even for him.

After about ten more minutes, she furiously shut off the water, stepping out of the shower. She wrapped herself in as many towels as possible, trying to warm up her shaking body. Then, with a huff, she opened the door and stepped into her bedroom.

The sight she saw made her blood run cold. Max was passed out on the bed, still in his clothes and snoring loudly. The note she had left remained carelessly tossed over on the other side.

A million thoughts ran through her head at once. At first the most prominent one was: _That_ asshole. _Does he even give a shit about us anymore?_. But then she deduced that he was so tired (or quite possibly hammered) that he just hadn't seen it. As much as she hated to admit it, this was probably what had happened.

She pulled on her t-shirt again and a pair of sweatpants, crawling into bed. She could always try again in the morning or the next night, but she already knew she had lost her motivation. That spark she had had earlier was now just a fizzle in her stomach as that dull, yet numbing ache was slowly replacing it.

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**Generally, chapters will be much longer than this one, but this is mostly set-up.**

**I've already written about six chapters, but I'll see how this chapter fares before I post the next one. **

"…**now rock-and-roll superstar Sadie." – Yes, Sadie and JoJo are superstars. They deserve it. **

"**Max lost his job at the construction company he had been working at for seven years."** – **Because of the song, it made sense to me that he should be pretty handy with tools.**

"**Prudence, dear Prudence, was traveling with a local circus the last they'd heard." – This is seems like the path the character would take. I'm not promising anything, but she may make a few appearances in this story.**

**By the way, I know at the end of "Eleanor Rigby", I had the Carrigan and Feeney families living in different apartments, but it makes life so much easier to have them living in the same place. So deal with it. :D**

**Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please read and review.**

**~TMOLM2010**


	2. A Missed Opportunity

**I'm glad so far people like the story!**

**Here's the next chapter, about four pages longer than the last one. Most of the chapters posted will be about this length.**

**Enjoy!**

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Max groaned as the shrill ringing of the alarm clock woke him from a wonderful, dreamless sleep, something a lot of people took for granted, but he certainly appreciated. When he was younger, he had built some sort of immunity to hangovers due to the large amount of hard partying he did. Unfortunately, his hard partying days were long over, and lately, it seemed that if he had one too many beers, he woke up with the worst possible hangover anyone could imagine.

He hit the snooze button so hard he was surprised he didn't break it. As he rolled over, he immediately buried his head into his pillow again as the blinding sunlight made his throbbing head hurt even more.

"Ol' Jacky D not treating you so good this morning?"

He briefly picked up his head and looked over his shoulder. Ellie, already out of bed and currently getting dressed, was looking back at him, a small smile playing at her lips. He only grunted in response, falling back into the pillow. She glanced at the clock, then gave him a little nudge with her foot.

"I'd suggest getting up. You've only got about an hour before you have to go to work."

"Ten more minutes…" he moaned desperately. She rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, thinking he was acting more like her teenage son than her husband this morning. She went about getting ready, figuring she could wake him up once she was done in the bathroom.

Brushing her teeth and washing her face, she returned to her bedroom fifteen minutes later, not surprised at all to find Max still dozing in their bed. She gave him a shake.

"Max…"

"Alright, alright. I'm up, I'm up," he mumbled, throwing back the covers and dragged himself out of bed. He stretched and scratched the back of his neck, his pulsing headache thankfully wearing down to dull throb. He shuffled over to the chest drawers and slipped in front of Ellie, who was checking her appearance in the mirror. Pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he stood back up and rid himself of his shirt.

Ellie pursed her lips in disapproval as she looked at the lined, fatigued face and somewhat frumpy body that stared back at her.

"Just think, I used to be fresh-faced and a size 5. When did the sudden gain of 4 sizes and forehead wrinkles happen?" she muttered.

Max sighed inwardly. He hated it when she did this. Yes, she had gone from a size 5 to a size 9, but honestly, he wouldn't have known if she hadn't indiscreetly informed him. Sure, he noticed that her ass had gotten a little bigger and her waistline wasn't as small anymore, but she was far from losing her figure. She did this just so he could reassure her she wasn't fat, that she was beautiful and always would be. He hadn't minded that much the first couple times, but as she continued to do this, it increasingly got old.

He knew women always had that sick fascination with svelte figures, but for God's sake, did they really need assurance this often?

Max came over to her, gave her a small embrace and kiss, and said "You're hot, babe." with some sincerity before returning to getting himself ready. After a while, he had decided that he would comfort her once, but after that, he would ignore the comments.

As he zipped up his jeans and threw the shirt on, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper that lay in their bed. He picked it up with curiosity, read it, then said quizzically: "What's this?"

She turned and saw the note his hand, her cheeks instantly turning a light shade of pink.

"Oh…it's nothing," she responded, brushing her hair into a high ponytail. "I just thought when you came home last night…it's not important."

"What?" he persisted, sauntering up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, a smile growing on his face. "What could you possibly want me in the shower for?"

She swiveled in his arms and immediately, her lips were on his. It wasn't long before she forcefully sat him down on the bed, her legs looping around his hips and their kiss never breaking.

"I thought you said we had to go to work," he huffed, laying back and pulling her down with him.

"I could care less about work," she eventually responded, reeling him back in for a fiery kiss. Her fingers fluttered down his chest, ending at his waist and the urge to slip his shirt off being irrepressible. They almost got that far until Lucy knocked on the door and asked if they wanted breakfast. Instantaneously, the mood was broken.

Ellie collapsed on top of him, groaning as the chance to redeem her sex life had just been cruelly snatched away from her.

"We'll be out in a second, Luce," Max called out, just as disappointed as his wife. He glanced over at her and seeing her state of hopelessness, he enveloped her in an embrace.

"Hey, hey, hey," he started, kissing the top of her head. "It's not the end of the world. There's always tonight...yeah, tonight. We'll do it tonight."

"What about the kids?" she asked, her words muffled by his shirt.

"It's a Friday night, they have to go somewhere."

"Okay…okay," she finally replied, still panting. "Tonight." With that, she gave him a quick peck on the lips, then pulled herself off of him. She fixed her hair, now messy and loose, and straightened her clothes before heading out to the kitchen for breakfast.

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When Ellie entered the kitchen, Michelle was sitting at the table, hunched over a piece of paper and glaring down at it with disdain. A pencil tapped impatiently in her hand. Lucy, who was getting out cereal bowls from the cupboards, looked over her shoulder and greeted her sister-in-law with a warm smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," Ellie responded, going up to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "What's on tap for breakfast this morning?"

"Let's see, we have…cereal, cereal, and, oh!" She pulled out a box of Cap'n Crunch. "Brand name cereal! Take your pick, madam."

She grinned, taking the box out of her hand and beginning to pour herself a bowl. Once she got a spoon, she sat down opposite her niece, who was mumbling expletives under her breath as she sketched something, then furiously erased it after thirty seconds or so.

"What's the problem, Michelle?"

"Oh, we have to do this stupid project for English. I'm supposed to do a visual representation of the book we're reading, and I have no idea where to start, end, or anything."

"What's the book?"

"Romeo and Juliet," she said with an eye roll.

"Ah, Shakespeare's greatest love story," Max Sr. sighed dramatically as he entered the kitchen. "Two star-crossed lovers…two feuding families…one great love, and all that crap."

"It has to be the most overrated piece of fiction ever written. I don't understand why people worship this guy. It's nothing special."

"Oh, where's your sense of romance? Certainly, you feel the same rush and thrill of excitement with Jake, no?" Lucy teased with a knowing look to her daughter.

Michelle's ears turned red and she instantly began twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "Well, kind of, but it's not the same."

"How is Jake, by the way? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's been kind of sick lately," she responded, her eyes darkening in concern. "Even when he came back to school, he said he felt tired all the time. He's going to the doctor on Monday. Hopefully, he's okay." She smiled a little, her face brightening. "I'm going to see him after school today!"

"You won't be seeing him after school today unless you get that assignment done, missy. I know full well that that assignment was due two weeks ago. You know Ms. What's-Her-Name will give you a detention if you don't turn it in now."

The teenager groaned, gesturing wildly to her paper. "What the hell am I supposed to draw?"

"I'm sure your dad would know," Ellie suggested, taking a sip of her milk.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that before…" She shot a cautious glance to her mother and an innocent grin spread across her face. "Not that I'd _ever_ ask Dad to do work for me or anything like that."

"Mm, of course not."

"Don't worry 'bout it, 'Chelle," her uncle said, giving her a wink as he munched on Cap'n Crunch. "If Judey can't help you, I've definitely be blessed with artistic skill."

"You wish," interjected Jude, coming from his bedroom. "Now, what's the matter, luv?"

The two of them began working on her assignment, and Ellie got up, putting her dishes in the sink. Then, she pulled Lucy aside, lowering her voice.

"Er…I was just, uh, wondering if you and Jude maybe wanted to go out tonight…"

"You mean…" She glanced behind her, then back to Ellie. "The four of us?"

"No, I mean, just the two of you."

"Why?"

Ellie could've just told her flat out and she would've understood, but honestly, she was a little embarrassed. So, she shook her head a little, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear nonchalantly. "No reason…I thought maybe the two of you wanted to, you know, go out for a change."

Lucy immediately looked to her brother, who glanced at the two of them innocently when he caught her eye. It was clear she understood when a smile played at her lips. "Ah…I see. Of course we can go out tonight, El. We do need to get out more often."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Ellie mumbled under her breath, clasping her friend's hands and giving them a squeeze. "Now I just have to get the kids out of the house."

"Michelle wants to go see Jake and I'm sure Max will have something to do. I think you're set," she whispered, winking at her. Ellie sighed in relief, smiling.

"…speaking of Max…" she thought, eyeing the clock. "What in God's name is he still doing in bed?" She scuffled out of the kitchen, bellowing his name at the top of her lungs and pounding on the door.

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Michelle sighed as she heaved her messenger bag on top of her desk in her English class later that morning. Rummaging through her things, she pulled out her binder and the drawing she had managed to sketch quickly with her dad at the kitchen table. It was no masterpiece, and she wasn't sure it represented exactly what Ms. Wilson had been going for. But, it would have to do and it would also have to get her a decent grade if she wanted to pass this semester.

As a black backpack was slung heavily onto the desk next to hers, she turned and grinned when she saw her sleepy-looking cousin plopping into his chair. She searched through her bag, pulled out a Coke, and dangled it teasingly in front of his face.

"Need something to wake you up, squirt?" she cooed. He reached for it, but she lifted it out of his reach. After doing this a few more times, mostly because it was amusing to watch his bad reflexes, she finally sat it down on his desk and took a seat in her chair.

The nickname "squirt" had been given to Max Jr. by his father when he and Michelle were both still in diapers. He continued to call him that, even when he got older, and once it reached Michelle's ears, the name had stuck. Max Jr. loathed it, but he let his dad and Michelle call him that. They were the only ones allowed, though. In return, there had been a popular song "Michelle" that the adults had loved when they were young. So, in honor of the song's lyrics, whenever his cousin was in a bad mood and needed cheering up, Max would call Michelle "belle."

"Ugh, that math test was brutal," he said, taking a long sip from the can. "Good luck with that."

"Eh, I'll do fine on that…what I really need to pass is this assignment." She cast a nervous glance in the direction of her teacher, who was calmly grading a few papers at her desk. Her cousin snatched the drawing out of her hands, took a good look at it, then gave a shrug of approval.

"Looks good to me. Wait, did this Uncle Jude draw this for you?"

She shot him a defensive look. "No…well, yeah, he helped with the general idea, but I drew it."

"Ah, _that_ explains the lack of artistic skill," he said with a wicked smirk. Despite his nasty comment, he was only trying to cheer her up. Luckily, she got his sarcasm and took the paper back.

"Har har. You're hardly DaVinci yourself."

"But seriously, 'Chelle, this isn't art class. Wilson'll give you a passing grade as long as it doesn't look like you just did some random sketches."

"I hope you're right. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll get enough credits this semester."

"Students! Please hand in any late work you have," Mrs. Wilson interrupted in a booming voice. Michelle cautiously got in the small line that formed at the front of her desk, constantly running a hand through her wavy tresses. Once she got to the desk, she gave it to her teacher without a word.

Mrs. Wilson gave it a quick look over, then peered over her red-rimmed glasses at her student. "Is this all, Michelle?"

"Yes, Mrs. Wilson. I turned in the rest of my late work last class period."

"Well…" Her lips pursed. "I certainly don't like failing any of my students; even you, Miss Feeney. So I sincerely hope that all your work is in and that it is acceptable enough for you to pass this semester."

"Thank you, ma'am," she mumbled before returning to her seat and heaving a sigh. She sincerely hoped her teacher understood how much a measly D would mean to her. It wasn't that she was dumb; she had been a straight-A student up until her junior year of high school. That's when she found out she actually had to study for her tests and not fall asleep in class, and she wasn't used to that at all. Normally around this time of the year, she was blowing off little assignments that were given after finals were over because her good grade was already solid. Now, she was desperately scraping for every point possible just to get a passing grade in three of her classes. She had managed to pull a D in her history class, but she had failed her chemistry class. So she absolutely needed to pass English to get enough credits for the semester.

She dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her temples. Her parents had no idea about her predicament. Well, they knew about some of it, but they definitely didn't know about the F in chemistry. So they would already be disappointed. But Lord knows her mother especially would skin her alive if she didn't pass.

Max reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You'll be fine, belle. I promise."

"I hope you're right."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As Max headed to lunch later that afternoon, his attention was drawn to the small table that had been set up at the front of the cafeteria. It was the Army recruitment officers again. They had come to their school three times this year already, and judging by the line that was in front of the table, they had been gaining a lot of new privates from this school.

He stopped for a moment, part of him having the urge to go over and part of him saying to pass it by. The Army didn't sound as bad as everyone said it was. Actually, he kind of wanted to join the Army. College, at this point, wasn't something he wanted to do, nor was finding a job right after he graduated. There was no major war going on, and even though he'd still be on active duty, at least he wouldn't have a gun in his hands and be forced to use it so quickly.

An arm looping through his disrupted his thoughts. He looked over to his right and smiled when he saw Clara, his pretty, Latina girlfriend, grinning back at him. They shared a quick kiss, then she asked:

"You waiting for Michelle or something? You were just standing here when I saw you…"

"No, no…" He shook his head, sending shaggy blonde bangs everywhere. "I was just…" He glanced over at the Army table again, then back to her. "It's nothing."

She shrugged as the two started to walk towards the lunch line. "So, how'd the math final go?"

He groaned. "Awful. I probably bombed it, but Starkey said it wouldn't be worth that much, anyway."

"Good, because my mom will flip out if I don't get an A this semester," she responded with an eye roll. He smirked.

"She's still on your case about that, huh?"

"Unfortunately." She hunched over, narrowed her eyes, and spoke in a thick, sharp Spanish accent in a glorious imitation of her mother. "_Clara_, you waste that head of yours writing those _rrrrrri_-diculous poems in your room all day! How are you going to become a doctor if you don't get good grades! My mother always told me…"

"_No _pain…_no_ gain," both she and Max finished simultaneously, chuckling afterwards. Apparently, this had been the first English phrase Ms. Hanson had clearly remembered when she was a child and she used it all the time, even when it didn't always make sense.

She sighed and shook her head in exasperation. "I don't know how many times I've told her that it's not the end of the world if I don't get into Stanford, but that hasn't quite registered yet."

She glanced over her shoulder, noticing the Army table. "Besides, I could always join the Army or something," she snorted.

"Yeah…yeah, you could," Max laughed uncomfortably, immediately changing the subject afterward. Clara wasn't strongly opposed to becoming a soldier like his cousin and his entire family was, but she certainly wasn't thrilled about the whole idea. Whenever they had come to their school, she had made a few off-hand remarks about it that he didn't take offense to, but he did want to respond to them. He didn't to avoid the argument that would follow.

If his dad ever found out he was even considering joining the Army, he would probably blow a fuse. It was odd, since his dad so rarely lost his temper and had very few ground rules. But joining the Army would be out of the question. And God knows his mother would side with her husband. He didn't blame them; their experiences with Vietnam were horrific, but that was years ago.

As he tuned back in to what Clara was saying, he decided to not worry about that for right now, he still had plenty of time to think about it, and thought more about that disgusting mess of mystery meat that had just been handed to him for lunch.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max Sr.'s eyes scanned through the shelves, lighting up when he found his favorite brand of cigarettes. He picked up about three boxes, thought about it for a minute, and reluctantly put two of them back. Money was tight and if Ellie found out he was spending this much on cigarettes, she'd be riding his ass about it.

Of all the things he had been forced to give up over the years, the two he refused to give up were cigarettes and booze. Weed and various other drugs had been somewhat difficult, but he knew he'd go insane without his Marbolos and Jack Daniels. He did oblige to cut back on the alcohol, though, enough so that he didn't come home hammered every night like he used to.

"Max…?"

He turned and saw a beautiful blonde staring curiously back at him. Her features were soft and her smile was sweet; she was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"Yeah?"

Her smile grew, making the area south of his waistline slightly more alert. "You probably don't remember me…it was ages ago. We both went to this party that was honoring this hippie from California…lots of LSD…then we took that trip to Dr...I can't even remember his name…it was out in the country…it was at least fifteen years ago…"

"Yeah…yeah! I remember that…Shit, I definitely remember you." He grinned coolly. "Unfortunately, I can't remember your name. Lots of drugs, you know."

"I do know," she chuckled in response. "Valerie."

"Valerie, right. Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has…you look good."

"So do you," he replied probably faster than he should have. She giggled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Valerie must have been around the same age he was, but she looked about 28.

"So…how's the whole crew? The group of friends you were with…still keeping in touch with them?"

"For the most part, yeah. My sister, the blonde girl, if you can recall, married the English guy and we all live in the same apartment."

"What about that girl you were with…the black one? Probably haven't seen her at all since that trip, huh?"

"Actually, yes. We got hitched once I got back from the war. We've got a fifteen year old kid, too."

"Wow…congratulations," she said, smiling, but he could've sworn her bright green eyes darkened slightly in disappointment. "That's great."

"It's pretty good." It was around that time he realized that he had taken an illegitimate break from his shift and that if he didn't get behind the wheel soon, there'd be hell to pay. He rummaged through his pockets for a piece of paper and a pen and started to write down his number. "Listen, I've gotta split, but maybe we can grab a drink some time and…"

"…catch up?" she suggested. He nodded, gave her a lopsided grin and his number, and said: "See you around." before heading to the cash register.

As he stood in line, a voice in his head told him that he would be doing something wrong if he saw Valerie. It wasn't a date or anything, just two people who hadn't seen each other in a while catching up. It didn't matter that she was gorgeous…and she was quite possibly available…

"Fuck," he mumbled audibly. There was no way he could ignore the guilt churning in his stomach. But then his mind reassured him that he was stronger than that. As a man who had often thought with his dick and not his head or heart, this could be a challenge. But he was up for it.

Ellie and Max meant way too much to him to risk on a silly fling. And she probably wasn't even interested him.

He could do this. He'd just have to set the boundaries right away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Mom! Would you calm down?! I'll be gone in a second!"

Lucy Carrigan was currently shoving a coat over her daughter's arms, trying to get her out of the apartment as fast as possible. She glanced at the clock.

"Michelle, your aunt and uncle will be home from work any minute now and I promised them we'd be gone when they got back."

"Well, I'm sure they won't mind if we're still here for a few minutes," she mumbled as she shrugged her coat over her shoulders. "Honestly, what's the big deal?"

Lucy contemplated her answer for moment, then kissed her daughter's forehead. "You'll understand when you're 40."

Michelle's face scrunched in confusion, but she shook it off. Adults could be so confusing sometimes.

"So you're off to go see Jake and Max went out with his friends and I'm meeting Jude at the restaurant," Lucy said mostly to herself as she gathered her purse. She heaved a relieved sigh. "I guess we're all set."

She gave Michelle a kiss on the cheek, wished her a good time with Jake, and then headed out the door, her daughter trailing after her. Just as she was heading down the steps, she caught her brother walking up the steps. She gave him a wink, whispering: "Go get 'em, Maxy." just as they passed.

Max rolled his eyes, but grinned. He briefly greeted his niece when they passed, then finished heading up to the apartment. Once he was inside, he slipped off his leather jacket, took off his shoes, and stretched. After grabbing some dinner, all he would have to do is wait for his lovely lady of the evening to come through that door.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Hours passed. No sign of Ellie. Max got to point where he was pacing back and forth because he had nothing else to do. She had never been this late for a date before; if she ever were late, it'd be fifteen minutes, half-an-hour at the most. He was starting to get worried, wondering if something had happened to her. Maybe she was getting back at him for last night. But she knew it wasn't because he hadn't wanted to; he just hadn't seen the note. This was too cruel for her.

The door opened and he looked up hopefully, but it was only his sister and his best friend, returning from their dinner out.

"Hey," Jude acknowledged, glancing around the room. "Where's El?"

"Good question."

"You mean she's not here?" Lucy inquired incredulously, stopping in her tracks.

Max shook his head and sighed, dropping into the couch. The couple shared a concerned look, then went over to him, sitting on either side of him.

"Well…maybe she thought we were going out later and stayed at the diner to work," his sister offered.

"I don't think so. She said she was going to come home early tonight."

"Is…is there a chance it could've slipped her mind?" Jude questioned cautiously.

"Of course there's a chance. But…this seemed really important to her, so it'd be really weird if that were true."

The three of them chewed over this thought for a moment, then Max continued: "I hope she's okay."

"If she's not home soon, we'll call the diner." The two gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and got up, heading towards their bedroom. No sooner than they had gotten up did the door fly open, revealing a harried and rushed-looking Ellie.

"Max, I'm so, so sorry," she rambled, coming into the room and slamming the door behind her. "An old friend of mine came to the diner just as I was about to leave and we just starting talking and I lost track of time. I tried to get here as fast as I could-"

"Luce and Jude are already home, babe," he interrupted with a sigh, getting up from the couch. Her face fell.

"We can go out somewhere if you want," Jude offered, poking his head out from his bedroom door.

Ellie was about to ask them if they would, but Max replied: "Don't bother, man. The kids'll be home soon, anyway." He thought it was sadly ironic that he had been feeling guilty for catching with an old friend (well, kind of) just hours before and now his entire evening had been ruined because his wife had done the same thing.

"Max, I'm so sorry-"

"Hey, hey…I know, I know. It's okay," he said, pulling her to him and giving her a squeeze. "We'll just…figure something out later."

She nodded, gave him a quick kiss, then went into her bedroom to change to pajamas. She wished he had taken her by the shoulders and shaken her senseless. She was the one so desperate for a spark in their marriage, so how could've she forgotten? Maybe this just wasn't it; if they were so distressed about their sex life, they would've done it even if Lucy, Jude, and even the kids were home.

Ellie didn't know what to think, but what she did know was that if she had ever put all of the blame on her husband, it definitely was shared by her now.

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**A few quick notes:**

"**She shot him a defensive look. "No…well, yeah, he helped with the general idea, but I drew it.""Ah, **_**that**_** explains the lack of artistic skill." – I thought it was a bit cliché that Michelle automatically be an amazing artist just because her dad was.**

"**It wasn't that she was dumb; she had been a straight-A student up until her junior year of high school. That's when she found out she actually had to study for her tests and not fall asleep in class, and she wasn't used to that at all." – This is basically the story of my life right now.**

"**As he stood in line, a voice in his head told him that he would be doing something wrong if he saw Valerie. It wasn't a date or anything, just two people who hadn't seen each other in a while catching up. It didn't matter that she was gorgeous…and she was quite possibly available…" – Now, don't play the "affair" card just yet. Calm down, things are not happening as fast as they seem. :D**

**As always, please read and review!**

**~TMOLM2010**


	3. Blurred Boundaries

**Thank you to blackbridxsinging and Fandom Jumper for reviewing! **

**I appreciate the reviews; it lets me know what I need to work on, so please do!**

**Here's the third chapter of ****Lonely People.**** Enjoy!**

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Michelle glanced up tiredly at the clock, then snuggled back into Jake's leg, enjoying his long fingers running through her hair. She should probably tell him that she needed to get home, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. It was the first time they had been together in a long time and she never wanted it to end.

"You, me, Max, and Clara should go to a movie sometime. We haven't hung out in ages," Jake said, looking down at her with a smile. "Sound good to you?"

She nodded, although in her mind she was thinking it would never happen. He had only felt worse in the last couple weeks and although he was going to the doctor in three days, she doubted he'd be all better. Nevertheless, it was good to keep his spirits up. He had gotten so sick of being cooped up in his apartment for so long.

How she had ended up with such a sweetheart for a boyfriend was beyond her. She was loud and brash; he was mild-mannered and quiet. Occasions like birthdays would completely slip her mind, and he would get her presents for birthday, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. She felt guilty a lot of the time, but he always assured her that's what he loved about her.

"Hey…is there any way I can just…spend the night with you?" she asked. "It feels like forever since we've seen each other."

"Hmm…"

She scowled. "I'm guessing that means no."

"Not necessarily. My parents could care less…I'm just wondering about _your_ parents."

"Mom wanted me out of the house, anyway. Although…" She groaned. "I guess I'll give her a call."

She reluctantly pushed herself off of him, wandering into the kitchen and giving her apartment a ring. Her dad answered.

"Hullo?"

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, luv, you need a ride home?"

"Um…Not exactly. I was wondering if I could spend the night at Jake's."

Jude paused, indicating to Michelle that he was trying to figure out how well he could put 'Is he planning on knocking you up?' into parental terms. "Will his mum or dad be home?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Let me ask your mother." And before she could protest, she overheard him talking to his wife. She sighed in defeat, leaning heavily against the wall. There was no way her mother would let her spend the night.

Sure enough, this is what her dad said when he came back on the line: "Your mum doesn't feel comfortable leaving you there overnight, but she did say you can stay there as late as 2 as long as Jake can give you a ride home."

She brightened. Despite not getting what she really wanted, this was a good compromise. "Yeah, he can. Thank you, Dad!"

"No problem, 'Chelle. Just be home and be careful…And, er…do you have condoms?"

"Dad!" she exclaimed, turning bright red.

"Okay, okay, I'm hanging up. G'night, luv."

She rolled her eyes as she put the phone back in the receiver. Although her dad was very lenient with her 90% of the time and was generally a laid-back guy, she sometimes wished that Uncle Max was her father. She had heard him telling Max Jr. once that he didn't care if he had sex, just so long as he didn't get the girl pregnant or get herpes or something. That was it; he hadn't bugged his son about it at all since that time.

It would be nice to have a parent who didn't care about what the hell your kid did.

She wandered back into the kitchen, told Jake the news, and fell into his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. It wasn't long before his lips brushed gently across the smooth skin of her neck, leaving light, barely-there kisses all the way up to her ear. She tipped her head back, eyes closed and a moan itching at the back of her throat.

She turned so that she was facing him and pressed a long, sweet kiss to his lips. His hands cupped her face, again tangling his fingers in her hair. Tenderly, he laid her down on the couch, his torso resting atop hers. They were barreling ahead at a dangerous speed and as warm, rough hands slid under her shirt and bra, Michelle knew she should stop now before she got to a point where she couldn't.

But moments later, when Jake's questioning eyes met her own, there was only one answer that her heart would allow her to give, and slowly, but surely, her lips silently formed the word: _Yes._

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The phone ringing from the kitchen awakened a slumbering Max Sr. He let out a prolonged groan, wondering if he should just let it ring. But looking at the time, it quite possible that this was an emergency. He glanced blearily over at his wife, just in case she was miraculously awake and eager to answer the phone. No such luck. She was out cold.

He slowly heaved himself out of bed, padded out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, and switched on the light. He squinted painfully, stumbling around and eventually finding the phone. He picked it up, gripping the holder for support with one hand and massaging his tired eyes with the other.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

A tinkling giggle was the first thing he heard. "Did I call at a bad time?"

It was Valerie. He tried to soften his harsh tone.

"Uh, no, no. It's just…it's a bit late, that's all."

Another giggle. "What happened to Max the party animal? You seemed like the kind of guy who stayed up until three every morning."

"Well…" Max responded with a yawn, having trouble not falling asleep right there on the phone. "Age caught up with me, I guess."

"Then I apologize for calling so late. I've been out with some friends this evening and now that I'm back and awake, I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a drink or something."

"Erm…I don't know-"

"If it's a problem, we can certainly try another time," she immediately jumped in. "I'm mostly bored and want somebody to talk to."

"Max…?"

Fate could not have picked a worse time for his wife to call sleepily from their bedroom.

_Easy, Carrigan… _his mind assured him as he tried not to psych himself out, taking a deep breath. He hadn't done anything wrong; he just needed to get off the phone as soon as humanly possible.

"Listen," he said, lowering his voice and listening intently for the sound of footsteps. "I can't go out tonight, but, uh, call me later."

"Preferably earlier than midnight, I assume?" she said with sweet sarcasm. He couldn't help but crack a grin.

"Yes, that'd be lovely."

She laughed. "I'll try. Goodnight, Max."

"G'night." And luck must have been on his side tonight, because not two seconds after he hung up the phone, Ellie shuffled into the kitchen, her appearance similar to his and her eyes squeezing shut at the blinding fluorescent light.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked.

Here was the hard part. He could tell her the truth; actually, there was a chance she wouldn't care at all. But there was also a chance she'd go protective-psycho-housewife on him and that was the last thing their relationship needed.

"A friend from the taxi company. Just wondered if I could go out," he answered carefully. It wasn't a complete lie. It had been a friend and they had wondered if he could go out. He just failed to mention that this friend was a very attractive female and that she wasn't from the taxi company.

"It's a little late, don't you think?" She shifted her weight to one hip, placing a hand on it and pursing her lips in drowsy disapproval. This sight was amusing to him. A smile spread out across his face as he came over to her.

"What?" she inquired, not seeing what was funny. He pulled her into an embrace and gave her a squeeze.

"Nothing, El. Let's go back to bed; I'm wiped."

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as the two returned to their bedroom. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The next morning dawned cold and dreary. None of family got up before ten, but Lucy found herself pulling out sandwich materials around 10:30 for an early lunch, or a late breakfast, depending on how you looked at it.

Her daughter was the first of her relatives to come into the kitchen, immediately heading for the refrigerator and getting out a can of Coca-Cola for herself. Normally, Lucy would've protested that she have something slightly healthier at this hour of the morning, but she decided to let it go. Honestly, she wouldn't mind having a Coke right now, either.

"So…how was your night with Jake?" she asked, spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread.

"Uh, good. Yeah, it was good, I guess."

"What did you do?"

"We just…hung out. That's all," she responded tentatively, still not looking at her mother.

"No movie? No trip to the coffee shop? Come on, 'Chelle, I want the dirty details," Lucy said eagerly as she folded over her piece of bread and took a bite, sitting across from her daughter. The gossipy schoolgirl in her had never completely died.

"Well, there _aren't_ any dirty details," she replied, annoyance clear in her tone.

"Surely you did _something_ other than hanging out…"

"Not really."

Lucy was slightly taken aback by Michelle's reclusiveness as she was normally open with her about pretty much everything. Thinking it over, however, the elder figured that she had been up until 2 or later, so she probably wasn't in the mood for gossiping.

"Okay," she sighed with disappointment, getting up from her chair and returning to making herself the other half of her sandwich. Max Jr. was the next to come into the kitchen, giving both his cousin and his aunt a small, lopsided smile.

"Hey," he said in greeting. As he looked over to Lucy, his eyes lit up when he spotted the bread and peanut butter jar.

"Ah! Food!" He scurried over to the counter and instantly began making himself a sandwich. When he finished, he bit into the bread, eyes closing with bliss as he chewed. His aunt watched in amusement.

"One would think you've never had a peanut butter sandwich before," she noted.

"Hey, I haven't eaten since yesterday," he retorted with his mouth full, pointing at her in accusation.

"Oh, you poor, poor soul."

"I'm a growing boy!"

"Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but you're hardly a boy anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" he mumbled finally, unable to come up with another comeback as he plopped into the chair next to Michelle. He noticed his cousin's visible discontent and mouthed to Lucy 'What's wrong?' while pointing back at her. She shrugged, not knowing any more than he did.

"So, Aunt Lucy," he began, setting down his sandwich for a moment. "What do you think about the Army?"

Lucy, who was putting the bread away, didn't immediately answer. Why her nephew was asking this out-of-the-blue question was beyond her. She exhaled slowly and said as neutrally as possible: "Do you want the nice answer or how I truly feel?"

"Well, okay…I obviously know how you feel about it, but why?"

"Uh, maybe because your dad was almost killed in Vietnam and it made life hell for him?" Michelle cut in matter-of-factly, wondering how Max could not see the blatancy of that question. It took a moment before the younger Carrigan could respond without flying off the handle.

"…I know that, Michelle," he responded eventually, trying to withhold the rising aggravation in his voice. "I'm just saying, you know, things have changed since then. Surely the Army can't be _all_ bad."

"Actually, it can. And what does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Nothing; it's not important," he said through gritted teeth. "I was just asking a simple question and you blew it way out of proportion."

_What with the sudden bitchy attitude?_ he thought to himself.

"Excuse me for not being thrilled at the prospect of the Army and war. One would think you would care enough about your dad to not be thrilled, either."

"That's enough, you two," Lucy firmly interrupted just as he was about to cut in.

"I've lost my appetite," Max muttered. He got up from the table and stalked off to his room, slamming the door behind him. Michelle followed suit.

Just as this happened, Max Sr. wandered into the kitchen, shooting a bemused look behind him.

"For Christ's sake, what's with all the slamming doors?"

His sister rolled her eyes. "It must be 'moody-teenager' day."

"I guess…is it finals week or something?"

"Probably."

He shook his head, heading over to the fridge and pulling out a can of beer. Lucy raised a questioning eyebrow at this, to which he just shrugged and said:

"What? I had a long shift last night."

He took a long swig, wiping his lip and giving a satisfied "ah…" afterwards. She sighed in exasperation.

Some things would never change.

"What set them off anyway?" he questioned.

"I don't even know," she lied slickly, knowing the real answer would piss him off. "I was only half-listening, then they both starting going at it."

"Well, they're going to have to suck it up and deal with it themselves. You couldn't pay me to get involved with shit like that."

"Darling brother, we're parents," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "Sometimes we have to do the dirty work."

"That's fine, but consoling hormonally unstable teenagers is not on my resume`."

"Then you need to do some updating if you want to consider yourself a parent."

He shot her an exasperated glance. "Luce, I don't think I really have a choice in the matter at this point."

"Fine, then…how about a _good_ parent."

The phone ringing interrupted their conversation. Max, who was about to respond, groaned then met eye to eye with his sister. He pointed at her and said: "Hold that thought." as he went up to the phone and answered with dramatic sweep of his hand.

"Carrigan residence, this is Max, the _greatest_ dad in the world speaking." Lucy snorted. So did the other woman on the other end of the line.

"I can't say that I've seen any of your parental skills, but I'm sure you make a wonderful father."

He certainly wasn't expecting Valerie to call back so soon. He immediately and somewhat involuntarily dropped the act out of surprise. "Oh…hey, Valerie…uh, how's it going?"

There was that damn giggle of hers again. "I'm fine. How are you, other than the fact that you are being forced to defend your parenting?"

"Hunky-freakin'-dory…uh, listen, now's not the best time for me to talk," he mumbled as he felt his sister's watchful eyes boring into the back of his skull. There was no doubt she was listening in.

"Again? The Mrs. must be giving you a hard time." He could practically hear her smirking on the other end.

"That would depend on the Mrs. you're referring to," he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, anyway, at least let me set up a time and a place with you."

"How about…tomorrow? Say, the little deli on 10th?"

"Sure, I love that place. What time?"

"Er…whatever time suits you best," he said, purposefully saying it in the most chivalrous way possible.

"What a gentleman!" she laughed. "How about eight o'clock?"

"Sounds good to me. Will you be needing transportation?"

"I actually live about a block away from there, but thank you _ever_ so much for the offer."

"You are most certainly welcome. See you tomorrow."

"Bye!"

Max chuckled and shook his head as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Lucy asked as she washed a few dishes, her attitude too casual and light. She was suspicious.

"An old friend," he replied after a moment. For once, he was telling the truth. Sort of.

"Mmm…would this old friend happen to be female?"

"She would, in fact." He was not going to let her rain on his parade.

She didn't say anything for a moment, scrubbing violently at the plate in her hand. She was holding back a million things she wanted to say and this didn't go unnoticed by Max.

"_Luce_…" he started, donning the "big-brother" tone of voice. "I'm not cheating on El." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I just saw Val at the grocery store a few days ago and she wants to catch up."

Lucy knew it wasn't a good sign he was already giving the mysterious woman a nickname.

"Where do you know _Val _from anyway?"

"She was that party…you remember? The one with all the LSD and Dr. What's-His-Name…"

"So, really, she's not an old friend, more like…a girl you hooked up with for one night?"

"She came back with us to New York," he said defensively. "And didn't she live with you guys for a while, too?"

"Hell if I know."

"Sis, this wasn't my idea in the first place," he said, although as he mentioned this he couldn't recall whether that was true or not. "We're just going to grab a drink or two, talk a little bit, and then she'll probably never call me again. Okay?"

She thought this over for a moment, then eventually heaved a sigh. "Well, it's not like I'll change your mind. Just don't do anything…dumb."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't. Trust me, I like living here. And after making Ellie chase me around downtown Brooklyn for a few hours that one time I've been watching my ass."

"I'm sure you have been."

Before he left, he had an afterthought. "It would be of great appreciation if you wouldn't let my dearest wife…whom I love very, _very _much, know about this…uh-"

"Date?" He winced.

"Date's a harsh word. I was thinking along the lines of…get-together."

"Having a few drinks and talking at a bar sounds like a date to me, but…I won't tell her."

He shot her a grateful look. "Thank you. You're amazing. I love you."

"Mm-hmm."

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Keeping the whole thing a secret wasn't as hard as Max had expected. Ellie had to work at the diner that night anyway, so he didn't have to give a bullshit excuse for going out since she wouldn't be around. The only one who questioned him was Jude, to which he gave the truth. And as he expected, he understood and wished him a good time with Valerie. Although his good wishes didn't come without a raised eyebrow and: "I better not see this broad naked in your bed tomorrow morning."

The "date" itself was surprisingly low-key and pleasant. It had been ages since they'd seen each other, so they had plenty to talk about. Valerie, after moving out of Sadie's apartment, had roomed with her friend Rose, a brunette that Max had also met briefly at the party. They paid the rent by working as a stripper (This was all Rose. Valerie had vehemently refused to this.) and as a waitress. Then Rose unexpectedly got hitched and moved with her new fiancé to New Jersey. She hadn't heard from her since. Valerie stayed in the East Village until the war was over and then she moved to Brooklyn to be with a friend of hers who had come home from the war and needed someone to keep him company. She still lived with him (his name was Brian) and his girlfriend in the same apartment.

Max told his story, and by that time, it was around ten o'clock. Intending on heading home, the two paid for their drinks and continued their conversation outside while they walked. It wasn't long before they passed the diner, and Valerie turned to Max.

"You up for some dessert? I haven't been at this place for a while and I've heard they have some killer apple pie."

Looking at the diner and realizing this was the one Ellie worked at, he grimaced. "Uh...let's not go here…"

"Why not?"

"They've got…rats…"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "No, they don't. Come on." She took his arm and began pulling him towards the restaurant.

"But they do! And cockroaches and all sorts of other shit…" But his continued protests were in vain. They were already walking in the door. He prayed to God as they waited for a table that no one would recognize him. He came in here often, mostly for the free food, so a lot of the waiters knew him. Hopefully a newbie who had been stuck with the graveyard shift would be working tonight.

A red-haired, sixty year-old woman came to seat them. A gold name plate reading "Florence" was pinned to her blue waitress uniform. Unfortunately for Max, she didn't look like a newbie.

Sure enough, one look at him caused a smile to spread across her face. "Max! Haven't seen you around in a while. I'll go get Ellie."

Before he could object, she had already turned on her heel and was calling towards the back room. Valerie gave him a curious look. He tried to give a casual shrug, but his nerves must have been written clearly across his face.

Ellie came out from the back room, hair tucked neatly into a high ponytail. She had become very good at looking put-together and professional even when she was exhausted and just wanted to go home. She grinned when she saw Max, but her smile faded when she saw Valerie standing next to him. Her pace slowed.

When she got to them, she smiled again, but this time it was forced. "Hello…"

"Hey, babe," he replied in a tone that was far too happy.

"…You didn't tell me you had a date tonight, honey. Who's the lovely lady accompanying you?"

"Valerie," Valerie jumped in, sticking out her hand. Ellie paused for moment, then shook it, fighting the urge to break her wrist. "I remember you…although you probably don't remember me."

"I don't."

"It was ages ago. We were at a party for…Dr. Robert, _that_ was his name!...Sorry, I couldn't remember it. Anyway, there was lot of drug use involved, but I know me and my friend Rose hooked up with you guys for a while…."

"Of course, how could I forget?" Ellie responded, although she had no recollection of this beautiful blonde whatsoever. "It's nice to see you again."

"Same to you."

"Here, let's get you both a table." The two followed the African-American woman to a table, easing into the cushy pleather seats. She handed them menus, but Valerie handed it back to her.

"I think we both just want a slice of apple pie, if that's okay."

"Of course. They'll be right out." She took both of the menus, again gave them a warm smile, and headed back to the kitchen. Once she was gone, Max dropped his head into his hand and groaned.

"What?" Valerie inquired.

"I'm going to get my balls cut off when I get home."

"She seems perfectly fine."

"Exactly. That means she's boiling mad. She always does this whenever she's angry at me, but other people are around. She acts like it's no big deal, then loses her shit later."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry…why didn't you tell her you were going out tonight?"

"Because I was afraid she'd have a reaction similar to this."

"Well, you can assure her that at least _my_ intentions are innocent," she said, patting his hand, although as his eyes met hers, he noticed a seductive glint glimmering in those emerald eyes. He shifted uncomfortably. Her flirtations were innocent, and unfortunately, that came off as anything _but _innocent.

Ellie returned with the pie, and once she had set them down in front of them, she said: "Oh, and don't worry about the check. It's on me."

This was not a good sign. "Ellie-" Max immediately disputed.

"It's fine, I can certainly pay for this-" Valerie reassured.

"No, seriously, it's on me. Enjoy your dessert." And with that, she left. He sighed in defeat, picking at his pie with his fork. The two ate their dessert in silence. When they finally finished, Max said:

"Listen, Val, it's been great catching up with you and I had a great time tonight…but I don't think I can do this again."

"…I understand…" she said after a while and she was sincere. "I crossed the line. But I had a good time tonight, too, and I'm sorry that we can't do this again."

She gathered her things, but stopped as she reached for her purse. Thinking for a moment, she pulled a pen out of her purse, wrote a number on a napkin and slid it across to him.

"If you ever think you can go out again, give me a ring."

He looked at the napkin, wondering if he should give it back to her. As he thought it over, there was no harm in her offer. She understood where his boundaries were and this was merely a gesture of friendship. He folded the napkin, tucking it into the pocket of his jeans.

"I better get home," she continued, getting up. "It was good talking to you again, Max. I'll see you around. Oh, and tell Ellie thanks for the pie. It was delicious."

"Will do. Bye." He raised a hand in farewell as her heels clicked against the linoleum floor and the door made a whooshing sound as she stepped out into the night air. It wasn't long before Ellie's shift was over, but it was long enough for him to start contemplating how he was going to apologize to her. However, he wasn't going to be totally submissive. It had been a harmless date; nothing adulterous had happened, and she shouldn't have the right to prevent him from having a nice night out.

She came back to the table about fifteen minutes later, slipping her coat over her arms and loosening her ponytail so that her hair fell to her shoulders. He stood up.

"El, I can explain-" he started.

"It seems pretty clear to me…I don't think there's any need to explain," she interrupted in a tone so cold hell would've frozen over.

"Babe, it's not what you think. Val ran into me at the grocery store and asked if I wanted to go out for a few drinks, and I said yes. What's the harm in that?"

"Well, there isn't any, except for the fact that you didn't tell me."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to flip out."

"That didn't work very well, did it?" she snapped, her voice and temper rising. He paused, trying to keep his composure.

"Ellie, _nothing_ happened," he said as evenly and firmly as possible.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to assume when I see my husband's arm wrapped around the back of some mysteriously beautiful woman that you met at a party? Did you even think for a _second_ I might be slightly offended?"

"Of course I did!"

"Then why didn't you say anything to me?"

"Because when I haven't even _looked_ at another woman that way for the fifteen fucking years we've been married, I should be able to go out for a few drinks with woman without feeling guilty about not telling my wife!" he shouted, face turning red.

She didn't respond. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Max exhaled slowly, took her by the shoulders, and looked her directly in the eye.

"El, I promise you, nothing happened. We had a few drinks, then we came here. That's it. I promise. And I am sorry for not telling you…but you have got to trust me."

"I do. It's just…it's not the greatest feeling to see you with another woman."

"But if they weren't even doing anything-"

"I know," she cut in determinedly. "But it doesn't matter. I still feel like…I don't know. It doesn't feel good."

"Well, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to do that. Actually, that's what I was trying to avoid."

She sighed, her weight leaning to one side. She rubbed her temples; she was so, so tired.

"Look, I understand that I'm not twenty anymore. I understand that I don't look like the way I used to. I know I'm probably twice as bitchy as I used to be-"

"Ellie, just shut up." He would have none of her self-deprecation today. "I don't give a shit if you're a size 2 or a size 10. I don't give a shit if you're twenty or forty. And I really don't give a shit if you're twice as bitchy as you used to be, because we're all twice as bitchy as we used to be…you know that I love you more than anything."

"Despite all that?"

For the first time since Valerie had left, he smiled. "_Because_ of all that."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….**A few things about this chapter…**

"**But moments later, when Jake's questioning eyes met her own, there was only one answer that her heart would allow her to give, and slowly, but surely, her lips silently formed the word: **_**Yes."**_** – I'll tell you right now, there will be no unplanned pregnancies in this story. There was enough of that in the first one. xD**

"**He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't. Trust me, I like living here. And after making Ellie chase me around downtown Brooklyn for a few hours that one time I've been watching my ass." – This a reference to the last chapter of "Eleanor Rigby."**

**Please read and review!**

**Much love**

**~TMOLM2010**

Prudent


	4. Teenage Heartbreak

**Thank you guys for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

**I'll tell you right now that I'm leaving for Chicago on Friday, so I'll try to update again before that, but after Friday it may be a while until the next update. Not horribly long, like two and half weeks at the most. I'm in a bit of a writer's block with Chapter Six and I'm going to try to get that finished ASAP but life is crazy right now, so…yeah. Bear with me.**

**In the meantime, enjoy this next chapter!**

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"So, we're thinking about gigs in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles next month…Sadie...Sadie?"

Sadie, who was picking absently at her fingernails, looked up. "Mmm?"

"Next month's gigs?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure, they're fine," she responded, taking a drink of her untouched tea. She winced as she swallowed it, setting it back down. Whatever this was wasn't as good as the English tea Jude had sent her.

To stay in touch her friends back in New York would occasionally send Sadie and JoJo little care packages. Jude would give either tea or a painting, Lucy would send her fantastic brownies, Ellie would find a guitar pick for JoJo and a shirt for Sadie, and Max would send something obscure. It could be as normal as something kitschy he had seen at those tourist shops or something as odd as an old bag of weed he had found in their cupboards.

No matter what they sent, she enjoyed it. Jo said they should just send a goddamn letter, but she appreciated the little pieces of her friends. It made her feel like she had never left them.

At the moment, she was sitting inside some ritzy restaurant in Chicago, having a meeting with her agent. Jo had called in "sick", but really, he was probably sitting on their bed with nothing but boxers on and a guitar in his lap.

He had always left the business side to her.

"_Sadie."_

Her agent, Paul, was giving her an exasperated look. He was the typical agent; perfectly tanned and toned, great fashion sense, and undoubtedly and flamboyantly gay. Today, he was wearing tight, black leather pants that only flattered one who had spent many hours in the gym, a white-washed denim jacket with a white wife-beater underneath, something Sadie could've found in the Village for twenty bucks while what he was wearing probably cost thousands, and designer sunglasses were perched atop a flawlessly tousled, white-tipped, jet-black head of hair

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I honestly haven't been listening to a single word you've said. So whatever it is, yes…you know I don't care about the stupid little details."

"Darling," he started, pulling out a scheduler and a pen. She shuddered; she hated it when he called her that. "One of these days you are going to end up in Vietnam with a shitty dressing room and contaminated water. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

"I would trust that because I'm paying you $60,000 a month, you would make sure that doesn't happen."

He chuckled nervously, knowing what could happen if he pissed off his clients. Flipping through his calendar, he asked: "Now, do we want to set up any more gigs for the summer?"

"Not really," she said, giving her tea to the server waiting patiently at her right and asking for a Jack Daniels instead. "I was wondering something else, though. Do we have enough money to look at an '86 Ford or somethin'?"

"Why? Your wagon breaking down?"

"No, it's not for me." She smiled softly. "I'm thinking about a birthday present for my niece."

He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Now is not the time to be thinking about things like birthday presents for nieces, darling. If you don't have anything else for me, I've got a meeting with people at MSG."

She sighed, gulping down her glass of Jack Daniels in one swig. She wished they didn't bring them in these pretty, but little glasses; she wanted the whole bottle, damn it. The waiter came back again and Paul handed him a credit card for the tab. Sadie, donning her favorite straw sun hat and shielding her eyes with thick, large sunglasses, got up from her seat, gathering her purse and shawl.

"Don't you have a coat?! It's below freezing out there!" Paul squeaked.

She shrugged calmly. "Never been a fan of the big, puffy coats. I'm used to it anyway; didn't have heat in my old apartment for God knows how long."

He huffed, giving her an exasperated look. "Yes, but, honey, it's _winter_ time and you're wearing a sun hat."

She shrugged again. One of the terms she had made quite clear before she had hired Paul was that in no way was she or JoJo going to change their music, their clothing, or style for better public reception. The people would just have to take them as they were, and so far they had been.

"So, I can get the car, right?" she asked before she left.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can buy the car. Just don't get something too over the top. I'm assuming this is going to a teenager?"

"Yep."

"Then your niece or cousin or whatever is bound to run it into a tree."

"Fair enough."

The waiter returned with the credit card. As he stuffed it into his alligator skin wallet, Paul got up from the table and leaned over to give his client a kiss on the cheek.

"See you later, darling."

"'Bye, Paul. Oh, and if you call me 'darling' one more time, I swear to God, I will have you fired."

"Of course, of course," he replied vaguely, waving this off. He would forget.

"Give Jo my regards!" he called after her as she walked out. She nodded in agreement, but snickered to herself. JoJo hated Paul with a passion; the only reason they kept him as their agent was because he had been the one to get them on the big scene after he saw them in Chicago. That gratitude had worn away after this long, but he was excellent at keeping their affairs in order and she trusted him with just about anything.

As she scurried to her car, a psychedelic Volkswagen that she had found years ago at a cheap car dealership and had loved ever since, she couldn't help but remember driving the very same car down the crowded streets of the East Village only a few years ago. She didn't have to drive; she could certainly have a limo pick her up if she wanted to. But she enjoyed these precious moments alone, where she didn't have to worry about agents, publicists, gigs, or advertisements.

She was grateful for the good life she led, but sometimes, she missed her simple, yet satisfying life back in New York.

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Michelle shifted her bag from shoulder to the other as she walked down the hallway, weaving in and out of students. It was lunchtime and she was starving. It was also likely that Jake would be back from his doctor's appointment; she wanted to talk to him and make sure everything was okay, but things had been a little bit awkward since Friday.

It had been so ironic that her father had asked her the questions he did when she called him to ask if she could spend the night. She hadn't planned on anything of that nature happening, but once she found herself in the moment, she couldn't stop. And neither could he.

They had been safe, though, so there wouldn't be any unexpected strangers showing up anytime soon.

She finally found Jake standing by himself at the cafeteria door. This was odd; normally, he was surrounded by his friends. As she approached him, he was visibly shaken, his face pale and eyes burning with worry.

She tried to offer a small smile as she came to him. "Hey," she greeted.

He looked up and the instant he saw her, his eyes darkened. His behavior didn't reassure her anymore as he pulled her to him, hugging her close for a long time.

"You okay?" she asked with concern.

He looked around, then took her by the arm and led her away from the masses heading into the cafeteria. They stopped in front of the side door, where no one else was around. He gave a shaky sigh and his eyes dropped to his shoes, his arms folding across his chest.

"The doctor said I've got AIDS."

Michelle immediately lost any coherence she had, her mouth running dry and her vision becoming blurry. She tried to say something, but no words came. Her heart might as well have stopped beating.

"My mom is a carrier, so that's how I got it…she didn't know about it until now."

"How could she not know?" she blurted out, the tears already starting to spill down her face. "How could she…"

"'Chelle, they caught it very early, they are very hopeful about the treatments, I could live for five, ten, fifteen years-"

"But you won't see a day past thirty, will you." The silence that followed was deafening. "You won't see your children graduate, hell, you probably won't even have children. No, you won't have any of that. Do you realize that?"

"Of course I do, but…" He paused for moment, then put his hands on her shoulders and looked her seriously in the eye. "I have to find any positive I can in this situation, or I won't be able to live my life. And as little time as I have, I need to make the most of what I have."

She nodded, trying to bite back the words she wanted to scream out. He gently kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm. Then, knowing she was about to explode and not wanting to do it in front of him, she slipped away and went out the side door of the school.

Once she was outside, she sat down on one of the steps, dropped her head into her hands and began to sob. She knew it was selfish; why in the world was she so upset? She wasn't the one with an incurable disease. Her boyfriend, one of the sweetest, most good-hearted people she had ever met was the last person to deserve something like this. She lifted her head up, indignantly wiping away her tears. This was ridiculous. If Jake was optimistic, then she better damn well be, too. Guilt churned in her belly.

_He tells me so he can have some support and I fly off the handle…_. she thought bitterly to herself.

She heard the crunch of feet against freshly packed snow behind her. She didn't turn; it was probably no one she knew anyway. But then the eavesdropper spoke.

"Belle?"

Michelle recognized the voice, turned, and saw Max standing there, looking concerned but awkwardly unsure of what to do. She sniffed, not saying anything.

Was there really anything to say?

He eventually shuffled over to her, sitting down on the step. He slid his book bag off of his shoulders and set it down next to him.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

She chuckled ruefully, giving him a watery smile. "No..."

"Well…do you want to talk about it?"

She thought about this for a minute. She would trust her cousin with her life and they didn't keep many secrets from each other. However, she wasn't sure if Jake had told anyone else about his predicament; she assumed that she had been the first one outside of his family to know, so she didn't want to say anything without knowing for sure.

"Not right now…but maybe later."

"Whenever you want to talk, just let me know."

She nodded, then leaned to rest her head on his shoulder. He loosely wrapped an arm around her, giving her a squeeze and rubbing her arm. Part of him wanted to know what was wrong, but given her state, he wasn't going to push it farther than it needed to go.

The soft din of the school bell, signaling the start of the next class period, was heard by both of the teenagers. Michelle pulled herself up, then looked at him with a hint of desperation:

"Max…would you take me home? I…I'm not sure I can really go to class right now."

He smiled softly, stood up and stuck out his hand. "Of course."

She took it and the two walked towards the parking lot. Michelle knew that leaving school wouldn't get rid of the problem, but there was no way she'd be able to focus on anything else this afternoon.

Max dropped her off at their tenant building, thinking it would probably not be wise for both of them to skip class. He asked her over and over if she wanted him to stay, but she assured him that she wanted some alone time and that she'd be okay.

She threw her house keys off to the side and shed herself of her coat. Shrugging off her messenger bag, she scurried into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her and locking it once she was in the room. She leaped into her bed, clutching the sheets around her. The problem wouldn't disappear, but maybe she could for a few hours.

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"Michelle, luv, please come out."

Five hours later and she was still wrapped up in her bed sheets. She had eventually fallen asleep, but now she was certainly awake due to her relatives calling to her on the other side of the door.

"Are you sure she's alright in there?" she heard her mother inquire with worry. The teenager groaned loudly, knowing that if she didn't at least say something soon, they'd break down the door.

"I didn't hang myself, Mom…" she said, her voice hoarse and raspy.

"Honey, we just want to know what's wrong," her aunt coaxed.

"Nothing is wrong, now _please_ just leave me alone."

The four adults leaned away from the door, exchanging worried and unsure looks. At least she was okay, but being locked up in your room for hours was never a good sign.

"Maybe we should try singing her out of her room," Max mumbled. Both women rolled their eyes, but Jude stifled a laugh. Even though it was a small matter, the blonde male thanked him mentally. He could always count on his best friend to back up him or laugh at his jokes when no one else would.

"I think we should let her be for right now," Ellie suggested, shrugging in defeat. "If she wants to come out, she'll come out. If she wants to talk, she'll talk. But we can't make her do anything if she doesn't want to."

"I know," Lucy sighed, rubbing her temples. "I just…I just want to make sure everything's okay. She's been so testy ever since Saturday."

"Is she maybe on her period?" her friend asked in a hushed tone. Both men groaned and scrunched up their faces in disgust.

"Alright, I think I'm going pass on this conversation," Max grumbled before heading into the kitchen and Jude trailing after him. Lucy and Ellie shared exasperated glances, their thoughts clearly similar. Finally, they both exhaled heavily and followed after their husbands into the kitchen, getting ready for dinner.

Michelle stayed still until she heard the voices at her door fade. Then she slowly got out of bed, padded to her door, and pressed her ear to it, wondering if they were still there. When it was clear they were no longer at her door, she contemplated on whether she should go out. Secretly, she did want someone to talk to, but like earlier, it wasn't her business to share. And part of her felt that if she went out there, she would be letting the adults win. A silly thought, really, but enough for her to stay in her bedroom.

However, before she plopped back onto her bed, she unlocked the door, figuring eventually one of them would come by, and her door would be open.

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Two or three hours later, there was a soft knock on her door. Michelle had fallen into an exhausted slumber and lifted her head tiredly at the noise. She glanced over the clock. 9:30. She had officially been in her room for eight hours.

The knock came again. She sighed and said: "You can come in." to whomever was at her door.

It opened, and to her surprise, it was neither her mother nor her father. It was her uncle. He offered a small smile as he stood in the doorway.

"You mind if I come in?"

She shook her head and he stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. Then he made his way over to the edge of her bed, sitting on it and looking at her kindly.

"So, what's going on, 'Chelle?"

She didn't say anything immediately, her eyes downcast and trying to hide everything. She knew if she looked up, he'd be able to coax the truth out of her. Her eyes were her biggest emotional weakness.

"If you really don't want to talk, that's fine," he said finally. "It's just…I know what it feels like to feel like…like no one understands. But, you know…it does feel better to talk about it. It sounds dumb, but it's true."

There were a few moments of tension-filled silence before she spoke. "I do want to talk about it…but…" She paused, tears starting fill her eyes once more. "I'm not sure I'm ready."

And that was true reason why she couldn't say anything earlier.

He nodded. "I understand. It's much more difficult than you think…it sounds simple and easy, but it isn't…take as much time as you need, because I'll still be your uncle when you need me."

He smiled that familiar, lopsided grin and scooted closer to her. He opened his arms to her, and she instantly fell into them. Max Sr.'s strong arms wrapped around her sent an unbelievable wave of relief and comfort throughout her entire body. While he may be irresponsible and crazy sometimes, her uncle was a great guy. He always cheered people up and kept their spirits high. Perhaps that's why it was so heartbreaking whenever he had his flashbacks from Vietnam. The amount of pain etched into the blue eyes so similar to hers and the fact he would go days without smiling put the entire apartment in a state of depression.

Coming out of her reverie, she realized Max Sr. was humming softly. She smiled as she recognized the song, a tune that had been sung to her many times throughout her childhood.

_And I will say the only words I know you'll understand…_

_My Michelle_

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Once Max left her bedroom, most of the family had gone to bed. However, he found his wife sitting on their living room couch, sipping a cup of lukewarm coffee. He was surprised; Ellie had to be at the diner from open to eight tomorrow, and when that happened, she often hit the hay right after dinner.

He sat down next to her and nodded in greeting.

"I'm surprised you're still up," he said after a while.

"I wanted to make sure everything was alright with Michelle. Is she okay?"

He shook his head and smiled sadly. "I don't think so…she didn't tell me what was wrong, but I have the feeling it has something to do with Jake."

"Mm…" She heaved a sigh. "Teenage heartbreak…"

"The best kind there is. You have God knows how many more years to find somebody who won't screw you over. Don't get those opportunities after a while…"

Ellie felt her features turn stony. She cleared her throat, taking more sips of her coffee and coming close to downing the whole thing. Max noticed this; he wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable, so he scratched the back of his neck and casually tried to change the subject:

"How long are you working tomorrow again?" Even though he knew the answer.

"From open until eight, so don't wait up for me dinner-wise."

"El…" he started slowly, knowing he would need to choose his words carefully. "I think you should lay off the hours a little."

She didn't say anything, her face expressionless but her eyes burning. She wanted to snap something in response, he knew, but she wouldn't. Not yet, anyway.

"I know we need the money, but it feels like you're never home. Not for more than a few hours. You look exhausted all the time, you don't seem happy…just take a rest for while."

She sighed shakily and closed her eyes, trying to reply as evenly as possible. "Tell you what…I'll cut back my hours when I'm sure we're going to be okay, alright?"

"Ellie-"

"Don't _Ellie_ me. With rent going through the roof, Max's car payments, and God knows what else, we can't afford to-"

"Is that all you worry about anymore? What we can 'afford to do'? What happened to just living? Christ, I didn't even want to move to Brooklyn in the first place, I thought we were just fine in the Village. But you insisted we move here because we would save _so_ much money. Did all that money we supposedly saved just disappear?"

She bit her lip, trying to keep herself from screaming. "You know very well it didn't. But we don't make the money we used to…"

Max chuckled bitterly. "So that's what this is about. So what do you want me to do? Quit my job and find something better? Because last time I checked it wasn't my fault I got fired from the construction company."

"Did I ever say it was your fault?"

"Well, you aren't exactly hiding your disappointment, El."

"Look, I never said you didn't do your share, but when you say that I should cut back on hours when we obviously can't afford it, excuse me for being a little pissed off."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I even brought it up," Max muttered, shaking his head a little and fighting the urge to roll his eyes. It drove him up the wall that he was always "the bad guy" in their arguments. _He_ needed to stop drinking so much. _He _needed to pick up more hours at work. _He_ needed to do this, _he_ needed to do that. He was always the one who needed to change…why was it always his problem?

The silence that settled between them was not a comfortable one. It wasn't long before Max sighed heavily, rubbed his eyes, and said:

"I think it's time we both hit the sack, don't you think?"

She paused before replying flatly: "I'm going to finish my coffee. I'll be there soon."

He shrugged, mumbling a "Suit yourself." before standing up and shuffling off towards the bedroom. If she didn't want to come to bed yet because she was still pissed at him, that was her own damn problem. In the mean time, he was going to get some much needed sleep.

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**Not a whole lot of "analysis" for this chapter, but here you go:**

"**If you don't have anything else for me, I've got a meeting with people at MSG." – "MSG" is short for Madison Square Garden.**

**I appreciate all the reviews, please continue to do so! Much love ~TMOLM2010**


	5. I'm So Tired

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**Just a reminder: I'm going to be out of town, so the next update may be in two weeks or so. Hopefully this longer chapter will make up for the wait.**

**Enjoy!**

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Michelle awoke the next morning still in yesterday's clothes. She felt as though someone had squeezed all of the energy out of her and left the lifeless remains on her bed. She reluctantly pulled herself up into a sitting position, yawning and stretching a little before immediately falling back into her mattress. Lord knows she didn't want to go to school today, but she had the feeling she would probably have to.

And she needed to talk to Jake. The way she had ended their conversation yesterday was not on a good note, so she needed to make sure they stood on the same ground.

With a groan, she swung her legs over the side, sliding off the bed and standing on her feet. She shuffled over to her mirror and was horrified by the red-eyed, splotchy, wild-haired girl that stared back at her. Immediately, she reached for her hairbrush and began to gently comb out the nasty knots that had formed.

As she brushed, she thought about what she should say to her awaiting family. Her uncle and her cousin were the only ones who knew anything and even they knew very little. Part of her wanted to tell them so badly what was wrong, because she knew she would receive nothing but unwavering support in return. However, part of her didn't want to add more stress into their lives; it seemed like the adults had been very worn-out lately, and again, she wanted to talk to Jake first to make sure it was alright with him.

After only getting a small section of her hair untangled, she decided to give up and just throw it into a ponytail for today. She added a cute, funky-looking scrunchie for good measure. Then she slipped off her old clothes, donning a nice pair of jeans, a blue, fitted t-shirt, and her old Converse. Once she did this, she gave herself another look-over in the mirror, seeing that her hair must have been the main issue and now she didn't look quite so bad.

She gave a heavy sigh and knew it was time to put on a brave face and keep her mouth shut. She would be pleasant, enough to let her family know she was okay, but not overly cheerful.

Michelle walked determinedly through her bedroom door and into the kitchen, where the sounds of another busy morning met her ears.

Her mother, father, uncle, and cousin, who were sitting at the table eating their breakfast, all looked up at her arrival and concern instantly filled their eyes. Lucy stood up, coming over to her and enveloping her in a warm embrace.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she said cautiously, kissing the top of her head. "How…" She pursed her lips for a moment, thinking of the best way to ask if she was alright.

"I'm fine, Mom," Michelle assured. Her mother gave a small smile of relief, then said: "There's cereal in the cupboard and…I'm afraid that's all we have this morning. I hope you weren't expecting anything else."

Her daughter snorted softly, shaking her head. "Cereal's just fine."

She pulled out a box of Cap'n Crunch, a bowl, and a glass from the cupboard, beginning to make herself breakfast. Noticing the awkward silence that had settled over the family, she hastily tried to make conversation.

"Where's Aunt Ellie?"

"She had to go to the diner early this morning, luv," Jude answered.

"She didn't _have_ to…" Max Sr. muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, nothing." He sighed and glanced up at the clock. "Well, it's about time I headed out. See you all later."

After giving his friend and son a pat on the back and his sister and niece a kiss on the cheek, he sauntered out of the kitchen and eventually left.

"Is Uncle Max okay…? He seemed a little off…"

Lucy shrugged and shook her head in exasperation. "I don't know. Ellie was a little off this morning, too, so I'm thinking the two of them may have gotten in a little argument."

"Lord knows their arguments aren't _little_," her husband mumbled with a look to the heavens.

"Speaking for my parents, I'm sure they'll be back to normal when they get home," piped up Max Jr. Lucy grinned sympathetically.

"Oh, honey, you just know them too well, don't you."

"It's a wonder you've put up with them so long," Jude noted with a smirk.

"Hey…I'm not the one who's lived with them for twenty years…" He looked over at his aunt. "…or more, I suppose."

His uncle chuckled, standing up and picking up his cereal bowl. "Amen to that…blimey, those two were a _sight_ when they first met."

"Oh? Enlighten me," Max Jr. said, leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"You don't know how they first met?" Lucy asked incredulously. A wicked grin spread across her face. "Oh, I'm not sure we should tell him."

"Aw, come on."

"I'm not sure he wants to know," Jude agreed.

"I want to know!" Michelle interjected, wanting to be a part of the conversation.

The Feeny couple shared a hesitant glance, but eventually shrugged their shoulders and began telling the story.

"Well…I think your uncle knows it best, since I didn't know for a while either."

"I'm not sure even I know it that well, but I'll tell you. All I know is that your mum was taking a shower the first day your dad and I got to New York in Sadie's apartment. He said he had to go take a leak, so he went into the bathroom, apparently not paying attention to the sound of water running."

"But that's okay, right?" Michelle asked. "Because there was a shower curtain, right?"

Her father gave a small, impish grin and Michelle's eyes grew wide, a silly smile twitching at her lips. "Oh my God…"

"Shower curtains were a luxury that poor Sadie just couldn't afford. I'm sure it was never a problem, except for unobservant people like your uncle. Well, anyway, long story short, Max walked in and got a good look at El buck naked and let's just say your mother was hardly pleased."

"Wow…"

"Oh, it gets better. When your aunt kindly asked him to leave, instead the bugger used the toilet and flushed, turning the water scalding hot, of course, and just about boiling her alive."

All of them except Max Jr. burst into laughter. Once the laughter had died down, Max Jr. sat up in his chair, finished his milk and said:

"Well…Uncle Jude was right. I definitely did not want to know that."

This caused all of them to chuckle again. Michelle even found herself still smiling after her giggles had subsided, making her feel a million times better than she had only a few hours ago. That was one of the things she loved about her family; they could always find a way to cheer her up.

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Michelle anxiously waited at the front steps of the school, her leg jiggling nervously.

_What am I going to say?_ she thought to herself. She had no idea where she and Jake stood at the moment. She would understand if he was angry with her, but she guessed that it was more likely that he would be more awkward than angry. Although part of her desperately wanted to chicken out, her mind firmly told her that she needed to wait.

Sure enough, mingled in with a small throng of students, she saw him, walking leisurely up the stairs with his backpack slung over one shoulder. He kept his face down, so she had to uneasily cough to get his attention.

"Hey," she said as nonchalantly as possible, offering up a small smile.

He looked up, and to her relief, gave a small smile in return. "Hey."

Just as soon as she had gained her confidence, she lost it. Her gaze dropped to her feet, tracing invisible circles with her foot on the pavement.

"Look…about yesterday…I'm-I'm sorry. I overreacted."

"You didn't, 'Chelle-"

"I did. For Christ's sake, I'm not the one with the terminal disease."

He chuckled uncomfortably, causing guilt to churn in her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed herself mentally, not going unnoticed by her boyfriend.

"Michelle, it's okay. Really. You had every reason to act the way you did." He suddenly turned serious. "Actually, there's something that you need to do…"

"What's that?"

He heaved a shaky sigh, now looking downright worried. "You need to take an HIV test."

"Why do I…" Then it dawned on her. Her face immediately changed to shocked horror. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"We were safe, so there shouldn't be a problem, but just in case…if you do…have it, then the earlier you know, the better."

She nodded slowly, still trying to let the news sink in. "Okay…do I just…go to the doctor or something?"

"This is where it gets…hard. Your parents will need to set this up for you."

"No. Absolutely not," she cut in, firm. After receiving a dubious glance from Jake, she retorted indignantly: "I can't tell them, Jake, they'll blow a coronary!"

"They might, but they also want you to be safe and I think they care more about that than you having sex with your boyfriend."

She paused for moment, then eventually said quietly: "You're right…it's just…God, what will Mom say…"

He closed the gap between them and titled her chin up with his hand. "It'll be fine. I promise. I'll even be there with you if you want."

She shook her head. "No…you don't have to. This is something I should do alone."

"This is something you have to do soon, okay? You can't put this off, especially if…"

"If something needs to be done," she finished for him. He nodded, then tried to give her a smile as he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her frame. They stayed that way for a while, only releasing when the warning bell was heard from inside the school.

"We'd better get to class…"

She nodded in agreement and the two turned to head up the steps. But just before they got in the door, Michelle casually slipped her hand into Jake's. He glanced over at her and merely smiled, the two of them walking hand in hand through the main hallway of the school.

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The Army had their table set up in the cafeteria again. And this time, it was almost impossible to keep Max from staring.

He remembered the argument he had had earlier with his cousin. Michelle had good points. The thought of him being in the Army would tear his father's heart to pieces and he wanted to respect his feelings as much as possible. On the other hand, he was genuinely interested in joining, and why should he have to give up what he truly wanted to do? Hadn't his parents said they would support him with whatever he wanted to do?

After fighting with himself for several minutes, he finally thought _It can't hurt…_ and walked casually over to the table. An older, kindly-looking officer smiled politely at his arrival and stuck out his hand.

"Hello, son. What's your name?"

"Carrigan. Max. Nice to meet you…?"

"Lt. Mustard. The pleasure's mine. So…you're looking to join the Army, huh?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess…I'm not sure exactly what I want to do after high school yet, but I know it's not getting a job or going to college."

Lt. Mustard chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Well, make sure this is something you really want to do. The Army's not for kids who just want an excuse to be lazy. Have you talked this over with your parents?"

He snorted ruefully. "No, and I probably shouldn't if I want to even consider this."

"What makes you say that?"

"My dad, he was in the Army for a few years. He served in Vietnam."

"…I'm guessing he didn't voluntarily sign up?"

Max shook his head. Lt. Mustard smiled knowingly, his hard emerald eyes full of understanding. Then, he reached over to the small table behind him that had a few displays up. Picking up a pamphlet, he handed it to Max.

"Tell your old man that I promise you won't be in as bad as a situation as he was. And I would know. I did my time in 'Nam, too."

"I'll try, but understandably, he's a little sore on the subject."

"You do that. And you think it over some more and make sure this is something you want to do before you get your dad all riled up."

The lieutenant stuck out his hand again, to which Max shook it. "It was good to meet you, Max. I hope we'll see you some day at the recruitment office."

As he left, he leafed through the pamphlet briefly. It was mostly cheesy propaganda, but as Max thought this over, he realized it wasn't only his father who wouldn't be crazy about the idea. His mother had nearly lost her mind waiting for him to come home, especially the second time. She had pregnant with him when it happened.

He groaned, shaking sandy blonde hair out of his face. He was starting to wonder if it was even worth it to ask. His dad was a pretty laid-back guy; he so rarely lost his temper. But when he did, he would rant and fume for hours. And considering the vague memories of his father screaming in the middle of the night due to a flashback, this was something that would surely set him off.

"Everything okay, squirt?"

He glanced up and saw the half-smiling, half-concerned face of Michelle.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, quickly stuffing the pamphlet into the pocket of his jeans. "How about you? Did you…straighten things out with Jake?"

She sighed heavily and shrugged with defeat, causing her curly, brunette ponytail to bob. "I guess…"

It was clear there was something more to this, but especially with Michelle, it was best not to push it too far. So, he changed the subject.

"How was Wilson this morning?"

She rolled her eyes. "She's being bitchy again."

"Did you get into another argument with her?" Max asked, a smirk twitching at his lips.

"Don't start jumping to conclusions, Mr. Smartass. I just told her that my essay's going to be a little late, that's all, and she completely flipped out."

"Well…" He gave her a knowing look, causing her to say: "I know, I know…god, I can't wait until we graduate."

"I'm with ya, sister."

As her eyes scanned the filled cafeteria, she spotted the Army recruitment table and scowled.

"I wish those self-righteous bastards would just stop coming to our school, already. For God's sake, how many kids do they think they can feed lies to?"

"They say 'Ronald Reagan wants you,' well, Ronald Reagan can kiss my ass!" she cried defiantly. The officers didn't catch wind of her outburst, but a few students did, who merely gave her a strange look.

Max shushed her, lowering his voice. "When Hayes or Johnson hears one of your flare-ups and you get your ass dragged out of the cafeteria, I'm going to laugh."

She rolled her eyes, but took him by the arm, saying "Come on, let's get some lunch. I'm starved." and pulled him towards the food line.

As they got their food, Michelle's words swirled in his head. No one would be on his side if he joined the Army. He knew his parents, uncles, and aunts were hippies back in the 60s, so he supposed he should've expected this. But even still, things had changed since then and he would like to think that maybe they were a bit more open to the possibility. Weren't hippies supposed to be open and tolerant to change anyway?

He sighed, his heart sinking further into dismay as his uphill battle just got steeper.

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Max walked through the door to his apartment three hours later. He tossed his keys to the nearest night stand and dropped his heavy backpack to the ground. Shrugging off his coat, he wandered into the kitchen, where he grabbed a Coke out of the refrigerator and then headed back to the living room. He collapsed into the old, creaky couch and leaned against the backrest, staring up at the ceiling.

His thoughts wandered back to what had happened earlier today, and while he was alone, he might as well start thinking it over.

Was he just going into the military to get out of going to college or getting a job? Maybe he was, but if he joined the Army, he'd at least try not to slack off. Despite being up for just about anything and having his way with just about any girl, he wasn't nearly the bad-boy his father had been. Everyone told Max he was his father's son, but honestly, the only thing that was truly similar between the two was their appearance. He supposed he was a bit of a womanizer; he hadn't stayed with one girlfriend for more than three months, although Clara might become an exception to that fact. But other than that, he thought that his cousin might be more similar to his father than he was. He did decently well in school and he normally got his homework in on time. It probably had something to do with the fact that his mother nagged him every single night whether he had his homework done, but it worked.

Even with his good grades, he didn't want to go to college. Graduating school so you could do four more years of school seemed dumb to him and he had no idea what he wanted to do. It would be a waste of time and money.

Okay, so maybe he was lazy and wanted to avoid getting a job. But he would much rather spend eight weeks in boot camp than flipping burgers or sitting in a cubicle.

And he knew that the whole 'serving for your country' deal was partly full of shit. But not all of it was. And perhaps he was being naïve, but he would like to think if he went into the Army that he could do some good.

The door to the apartment opened and in walked Lucy, looking dressier than she normally did. Her hair was out of its normal ponytail and curled down her back and as she took off her coat, she revealed a formal and nice-looking white blouse and black skirt, spiky black heels adorning her feet.

"Hey, Max," she said with a smile, setting her purse down by his backpack. "How was your day?"

"Alright…what are you all dressed up for?"

"Oh, I had an interview today. There's an opening for this great position down at Putnam Inc. Secretarial work, I'm afraid, but the pay is great, the hours are decent, and it's way better than being a secretary at the doctor's office," she said. Looking around, she asked: "Did Michelle not come home with you?"

"She had to stay after to make up some work." This prompted an exasperated sigh, followed by mutterings of 'if I have to talk to that girl one more time…' as she disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. She emerged seconds later, a glass of water in her hand.

"You okay? You look like something's on your mind," she said, sitting down next to him. He thought this over for a minute. Lucy had been the radical protester during the war, but she was also the one who was the least likely to fly off the handle. But then again, when he had talked to her earlier about this, her reception had been anything but warm. On the other hand, he wanted to confide in someone other than either of his parents, and since she happened to be here…

"Aunt Lucy, you know how I was talking about the Army earlier?"

Discontent and concern filled her bright blue eyes. "Yes…" she answered slowly.

"Well…I'm thinking about joining."

She didn't say anything at first. He tried to back up his statement.

"I mean, I've thought about it, and…I know it's something I want to do."

"Are you sure?" she asked almost instantly.

He nodded. Her brow creased with worry, her fingers drumming against her water glass. The last thing she wanted was for her nephew to join the Army, but none of them could stop Max from doing what he wanted to.

Finally, she exhaled gradually, then turned to look him in the eye. "Well, we can't stop you from doing anything. If it's what you want to do, then do it. And you know that we'll support whatever decision you make."

"Okay…I mean, I understand why you don't want me to do it."

She shot him a sympathetic look. "Sweetheart, this is probably the last thing I want you to do. But this is your life. And…times have changed. It's just…it's not easy for me, either."

"I understand…kind of sucks for me, I guess. Being born into a family full of hippies."

She chuckled for the first time since the start of their conversation, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and giving him a squeeze. "I suppose. But we could be worse, right?"

He didn't reply, but smiled. However, he suddenly turned serious as he remembered. "So…how am I going to break this to Mom and Dad?"

"I can tell you right now your mom will say okay and freak out later and your dad will scream until the sun comes up."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Well…all I can say is that your parents love you more than anything, and that yes, they _will_ support you. Just know it may take a while until they come around. Especially your dad. But I'll be behind you, okay?"

He nodded. She kissed the top of his head, got up from the couch, and went back into the kitchen. Max let his arms rest on his legs as he thought. He had to do it today, or he'd lose the guts to say anything. It would be hard, but if he was going to get any support from his parents, they needed as much time as possible to think it over.

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"Hey, Mom?"

Ellie looked up from the book she was reading as she lay curled up on the couch in her apartment that evening. Max Jr. had just come into the living room, looking a little nervous. There were many words to describe her son, but nervous was not one of them, so she knew something was up.

"Mm? What is it, Max?"

He sighed as he shakily ran a hand through his growing mop of hair. There was no turning back now, even with his Aunt Lucy's and Michelle's voices swirling in his head.

"I, um…I want to join the army."

She let out a shuddering sigh as she let her son's words sink in. She was not going to fly off the handle. It could be worse. Actually, there was nothing wrong with this at all. Except for the fact that just mentioning the word "army" brought about horrific memories of staying up all night with a sobbing Max Sr. in her arms as they had to get through yet another nightmare. She decided that for right now, she could at least remain neutral.

"…okay…have you seriously thought this over? The Army's not something to joke around with."

"I know. I've thought about it for a while, and…I really want to do it. I've talked to the recruitment officers who've been at our school, and…I want to do it."

She paused for a moment, dropping her head into her hands. He noticed her resent and assured:

"I'm not asking for an answer right this second. I know this'll take a while. I just wanted to let you know now."

She nodded. This didn't seem like just an excuse not to go to college. It could be, but she doubted he would go to such drastic measures. Unfortunately, this made it all the more harder for her. It dawned on her that she really couldn't make any decisions without her husband here, so she pushed her dark waves out of her face and turned her attention back to her son.

"Let me talk to your dad about this."

A look of defeat crossed his face. He already knew what his answer was going to be. But he merely nodded and mumbled "Thanks, Mom." before shuffling back into his bedroom.

What else was she supposed to say to him? It was tempting to tell him no, but there was no other explanation for that besides she simply couldn't stand the thought of having to send him over to another country. There was no war going on right now, but it didn't matter. One would break out eventually, and when it did, he would be one of the first to be shipped out because he was young and naïve.

The door opened and in walked Max Sr., coming back from a trip to the grocery store and a few bags in his arms. He slipped off his tennis shoes, which were in serious need of some repair, and set the bags down in the kitchen before padding into the living room. Because Ellie had gotten home only an hour or so ago, he had not yet seen her today.

"Hey," Max greeted her, bending down and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

_Fantastic. Even after our fight, he's in a good mood and I get to blow it._

She tried to mask her concern with a smile, but her discontent was clear to her husband. "What? Shitty day at work? Our rent bill just came?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that…uh…let's go to our room."

The eldest Carrigan shrugged and nodded, his curiosity mounting. "Okay." He did as she asked, following her into their room and shutting the door behind him.

"What is it, El?"

She sighed, her lips pressed together grimly. "You're not going to like it."

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know, I'm not working as much as I should be. We had this conversation last night, remember?"

"I wish that's what I was talking about…it's about Max."

His eyes widened. "Christ, did he get some girl pregnant?"

"Thankfully no, but-"

"Drugs? Well, that wouldn't be unfamiliar territory for us, would it."

Normally, she would've laughed, but his comment only annoyed her. "No, _Max_, for God's sake, let me finish my sentence." She heaved a sigh, her entire body deflating with worry. He took this a sign that this was something serious, so he quit the jokes.

"What's wrong, Ellie?" he asked earnestly.

"…Max wants to join the Army."

The silence that followed was deafening. Finally, his tone and eyes hard, he replied flatly: "No. Absolutely not."

"I was afraid of that…" she mumbled, looking at the floor. Unfortunately, her comment was audible to Max.

"What? You want him to lose his mind like I did?"

"Of course not…but…we can't just tell him no, Max."

He gave her an incredulous glance. "Yes. We can," he said slowly, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"There's no good reason why he shouldn't-"

"There's _plenty_ of good reason why he shouldn't!" he fumed, his voice and his anger rising. Jude and Lucy, who had been milling about in the living room, immediately fell silent as the argument could be clearly heard through the thin walls.

Ellie rubbed her temples. She hated making her husband angry, especially when he had been in a good mood, but she wasn't sure how else to do this. She knew perfectly well why he didn't want him to, but at the same time, it wasn't fair to their son.

The issue, to her dismay, had nothing to do with Max Jr. joining the army.

"Max…" she started, choosing her words carefully. "Vietnam is over and things have changed."

"So I'm just supposed to pretend it never happened? I'm just supposed to…_ignore_ every fucked up thing about me?"

"You know that's not what I mean. I'm just saying…it could be good for him, since he doesn't want to go to college."

A rueful, resentful laugh escaped his lips. "This all sounds incredibly familiar…oh, that's right, that's what _my_ parents told _me_ when I left. They told me it was a damn good thing the Army had come and scooped me up, because otherwise I'd be living on the streets. And I bet that's what your parents told your brother and look what happened! He came back in a body bag and I can't get through a fucking thunder storm without going out of my mind. You want to force him to live with that for the rest of his life?"

"But it's _what he wants_," she replied vehemently through clenched teeth. "Neither you nor my brother had a choice. This is different. There's a good chance he won't even leave the country. Let him do _what he wants to do!_"

"I don't give a _shit_ about what he wants to do,_"_ he responded, his voice quaking with rage and closing the gap between them to mere inches. "He is not joining the Army, the Navy, or any other place that'll have him with a gun in his hands!"

"You know he didn't even have to ask us in the first place? If he wanted to join the goddamn army, he could've done it by himself. Your son is not a child anymore. But he asked because he _wanted_ to make sure his dad wouldn't kill himself later because of it. And you don't even have the fucking decency to even consider it?"

"I don't have the fucking _decency_ to sit and do nothing while my kid gets his mind warped by those pompous, self-righteous bastards. Excuse me for not wanting that for _my _son."

She bit her lip, not wanting to give up but not sure what to say next. She shook her head and folded her arms, avoiding his glance.

"I need some air," he muttered. He stormed out of the room, stopping in his tracks when he saw his sister, his best friend, and his son standing in the living room, expectantly waiting for one of them to come out. Although to Max, the only person in the room was his son. He stared at him for a moment, causing his son's stomach to twist into knots.

"Dad…" Max Jr. started softly, but his father only brushed past him, grabbed his jacket off the coat rack, ignoring the worried stares of Lucy and Jude, and left the apartment, the door slamming behind him.

Max and Ellie were not exactly a match made in heaven. They were opposite and similar at the same time. She chose her battles wisely and he would argue until the sun came up. But they both were passionate about those they loved and were both horribly stubborn. Their more serious arguments normally ended like the most recent one had.

Ellie collapsed onto the edge of their bed, her mind screaming and her blood pounding. She had had the strong feeling their argument was going to turn into more of an all-out scream fest, less discussing anything of rational value. Whenever this happened, both of them needed to separate, at least for a few minutes. Once they had both cooled down a bit, they could normally resolve or come to some sort of compromise in a peaceful manner.

Though there would be no compromising on this one. It would be one way or the other, but she wasn't going to let him win that easily. She knew Max wouldn't have cared one bit if his son joined the army had he not been shipped to Vietnam so many years ago. It wasn't the Army; it was what happened to him _because_ he was in the Army. If he had been a librarian and had the same experiences, neither of them would've ever set foot in a library again.

But Ellie could not ignore the guilt in the pit of her stomach, thinking about how much this must hurt him. Just when he thought Vietnam had almost been wiped clean from his mind…

There would always be a dark memory of the war. At least it had been a faint one, but if Max joined the army, he would be faced with a glaring reminder of it every time he saw his son.

Her heart was hopelessly divided. Either way, one of them would be upset, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She heard a soft knock on the door. Assuming it was her son, she got up and opened it. Sure enough, he stood there, his hands shoved into his pockets and a crushed look on his face.

"Should I just forget about it?" he mumbled. She didn't answer for a while, but then she put a hand on his shoulder and tipped his face upwards so that their eyes met.

"Is it worth it…to you, to fight for?" He nodded. She sighed.

"Then no. We'll see what we can do."

"Am I going to kill Dad by doing this?"

She couldn't help but crack a small smile. "No, you won't. He's not going to be thrilled, I can tell you that much. But he'll come around eventually. All he's trying to do is protect you. He's become the parent he never wanted to be."

A grin tugged at his lips. She enveloped him in a firm embrace, kissing the top of his head when they pulled away.

"You know that we both love you and we want you to be happy, right?"

He nodded. Her smile grew.

"Good."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Max stared the bottom of the glass, wondering if he should order another. It had been about two and a half hours since he had stormed out of his apartment, it was a wonder no one had come looking for him yet, and he was thinking he might not be able to get home by himself if he had another.

But then again, being so drunk you can't think straight seemed pretty damn tempting right now. The last thing he wanted to do was think.

His own son wanting to join the army. Life hadn't always been so kind to him, but he was hardly expecting this curveball to be thrown at him.

"Hey there, stranger."

He turned and to his surprise, saw Valerie standing there. She looked different than the last time he had seen her. Her blonde hair was tied into a neat knot, she wore a black t-shirt and slacks, and a notepad was in her hand. Her face was also not as fresh as normal, her face lined and her eyes tired. She must work here.

_I guess I have a thing for waitresses…_he thought in spite of himself.

"What're you doin' here?" she asked, and he realized he had been gawking at her for a while now. He cleared his throat, her words still taking some time to register.

"Forgetting my troubles, babe," he said, with a small, lopsided smile, which she returned. Briefly, she made eye contact her manager, who was sitting behind the counter, silently asking him if it was alright if she took a short break. He nodded and she made her way over to Max, sitting down on the stool next to him.

Noticing his red-rimmed eyes and somber attitude, she said with concern: "You don't look so hot. Everything okay?"

He snorted ruefully. "No…everything is sure as hell _not_ okay." He turned to the bartender and pointed at his glass to ask for a refill.

"Well…talk to me, then."

"Thank you," he muttered to the bartender as he was given a fresh glass of beer. Taking a long gulp, he started. "Let's see, my kid…Max…is going to be joining the ranks of the United States Army…and…El is apparently behind this…which I really don't understand…and everybody just seems to not give a shit that…I was in a fucking war, you know?"

It was a sad sight, this poor, broken man drunkenly telling his woes to a waitress, so sad that she had to fight a smile. "I do know…" she said softly, looking at him earnestly. "But is it really doing you any good to be sitting here drinking yourself unconscious? Shouldn't you be home talking to your family?"

He scoffed, taking yet another long sip. "Nah…El's probably mad as hell…so is Max for that matter…I doubt they want to talk right now."

"I can kind of see where they're coming from-"

"Are you against me now, too?" he blurted out, with more disappointment than anger.

"No, I never said that. It's just…you have to understand their point. And maybe it's time you, you know, embraced your past a little."

He groaned and let his head drop on the hardwood counter. "I come down here for a few drinks and I get a lecture full of moral shit…"

She let herself smile this time, running a hand across his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Come on, Max. Let's get you home. Your family is probably starting to wonder where you are."

The bartender had come back to give Max the tab, but Valerie waved him off, mouthing to him that she'd pick it up once she got back. Then, she helped him to his feet, letting him sling an arm around her shoulder and leading him out into the night air.

For being a little buzzed, he gave surprisingly accurate directions to his place. It helped that she lived only a few blocks away, but still, all of the buildings looked the same at night. She thanked God that he didn't live nine flights up like he used to and slowly got him to his front door only three flights up.

She stood at his door awkwardly for a moment, Max still leaning heavily against her. She couldn't just leave him here, but her last encounter with his wife hadn't been a pleasant one. Finally, she decided that she could just tell Ellie the truth and keep it short, so there wouldn't be any unnecessary conversation. She would probably be more concerned with her husband, anyway.

Valerie rapped on the door three times and she wasn't shocked by the rapid reply. However, she wasn't greeted by the wife, but by a man about the same age as Max (and just as attractive, she thought to herself).

He sighed in relief. "Thank God," he mumbled before helping her pull him into the apartment. "We were startin' to get worried."

"He actually might've gotten here okay in a cab," Valerie said. "But I just wanted to make sure."

"Is he back?" Ellie asked, coming into view from her bedroom door. Seeing that he was, she rushed over to the three. Max vaguely looked up as she came over to them.

"El…" he mumbled, his features crumpling in defeat.

"Max, wait in the bedroom for me," she said determinedly, almost as if she were talking to a child. He obliged, shuffling away from them and wandering into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

"I can't thank you enough…" Ellie started, but stopped when she realized who it was. Valerie gave an uneasy smile, trying to break the tension.

"He wasn't looking for me or anything. He was at the bar where I worked and I noticed he was a little down, so I just wanted to see what was wrong."

She wasn't sure what to say. She knew it should be _thank you_ but part of her just couldn't say it. How could she believe what Valerie had said? There were so many coincidences in this situation and that bothered her. Luckily, Jude jumped in for her.

"We appreciate you making sure he got home alright." He sighed and sadly turned towards the door Max had disappeared through. "Poor bloke."

"It's no problem at all. Well, I've got to get back to work, so…I'll…see you around?" She gave an awkward little wave before ducking out the door and getting out of there as soon as possible.

Jude glanced over at Ellie, whose lips were pursed and eyes were burning with discontent.

"She must be the broad Max had that date with."

Her eyes widened before she incredulously inquired: "You knew?"

The Englishman winced, wishing he could erase what he had just said. He had forgotten that Ellie didn't know that he and Lucy had known about Max's date. She rolled her eyes, biting back the screams of frustration in her mind.

"I'm sorry, luv, I really am. But I didn't even know until right before he left, and Luce would've told me anyway-"

"She knew, too?!"

He started to wonder if he should just stop talking now.

"How can I trust anyone when my best friends won't even tell me what's going on?" she tried to ask as calmly as possible, but her voice quavered.

"Ellie, I promise, we weren't trying to hurt you-"

"Whatever. I can't deal with this right now," she said before turning on her heel and heading into her bedroom. The guilt that seeped through Jude's body was unbelievable. He and Ellie might as well be brother and sister; that's how close they had become over the years, and he didn't realize how much this had hurt her.

But she had been right in saying that she couldn't deal with this right now. Max had been waiting for her in their bedroom, and that was enough for the moment.

Her husband was slumped against the windowsill, forehead pressed to the frosty glass and a cigarette hanging limply between his fingers. Pain was etched in his blue eyes. He didn't look up when she came into the room, but she had the feeling he knew it was her.

She decided against sitting across from him on the windowsill, knowing he still needed his space, and settled for the edge of their bed instead.

"Shit, Ellie…" he started softly, still not looking at her. "I just…I just can't…_do_ this."

It was strange how easily he sobered up when they talked about a sore subject.

"You can."

"No, I can't. If something happened to him…"

He shot her a look of despair. She let out a small sigh, trying to find the right words to say. She didn't want to get him angry again.

"You can't worry about things that won't happen," she said finally.

"How can you say that? How can you say they won't happen when they obviously do?" he questioned indignantly.

"God knows that's the only way I made it through with you."

He fell silent this time. She got up from the bed and walked over to him, standing at his side.

"Look, I…I think we shouldn't stop him from doing something he wants. If this was against his will, it would be different. But he _wants_ to, Max. And he's getting to the point where he's got to make his own decisions now."

He still didn't answer.

"I know it hurts…it does, but it's what we have to do."

He took one last drag and put his cigarette out in the ashtray that was sitting at the end of the windowsill, then closed his eyes wearily and pulled Ellie towards him. Once she was close, he leaned into her, his head resting against her stomach.

"I don't know about this yet," he said, his voice muffled by her shirt. "Do I have to make a decision now?"

"No. He'll be patient."

He nodded, then heaved a sigh, quietly mumbling: "I'm tired of this, El. I'm so tired…"

A trace of a smile passed over her lips as she absently stroked the shaggy ends of his hair, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Me too, babe. Me too."

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**I don't think anything written above needs any analysis, so all I can say is please review!**

**Much love**

**~TMOLM2010**


	6. Ignorance is Bliss

**I'm really sorry for the super long wait. It's been a crazy couple of weeks of traveling, college visits, prom, heartbreak, makeup, concerts, homework, and god knows what else.**

**And I'm really sorry that this chapter's a little shorter than normal. But I figured I couldn't keep you guys waiting anymore.**

**Please continue to read and review!**

**Thanks for being so patient and enjoy the next chapter.**

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There was a knock on Max Jr.'s bedroom door. He looked up blearily from his sprawled position on his bed, then groaned, heaving himself to his feet. He yawned as he padded over to his door and opened it, expecting to see his mother or his aunt.

It was Michelle. She stood there, her weight shifted to one hip and her arms crossed, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Hey. What's been going on with your dad? Is everything okay?"

His entire body slumped with defeat. He scratched the back of his neck absently, then said with a sigh:

"It's a long story…"

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. The two of them sat on the edge of his bed and she looked at him expectantly. There was no way to tell her anything without telling the truth, but the first thing out of his mouth would have to be that he was planning on joining the army. And that might be where conversation stopped and screaming match began.

"Well, I kinda wanted to wait to say this, but I can't really tell you much without saying it…I want to join the army."

Sure enough, her entire form tensed up as she bit her lip to keep herself from smacking him across the face.

"I know you want to throw something at me, but let me at least finish. Then we'll see how big the throwing object needs to be."

She cracked a smile, but the tension had certainly not been lifted.

"So, I told Mom that I wanted to join the army, and she told Dad. And…well, you can guess what happened next. He flipped out and left for a couple hours. He just got home a half an hour or so ago…I guess that's it."

"Wasn't as long a story as I thought," he chuckled uncomfortably, but any smile that Michelle had had earlier completely vanished. She turned to him, her blue eyes blazing angrily.

"Let me get this straight…you're going to join the Army… even though you basically shoot and kill thousands of innocent people for no reason…_and _despite the fact your dad got super fucked up because of it?" she stated coldly.

He was about to concede, but after a moment, he looked her directly in the eye with as much sincerity he could muster. "…you know what? Yes. Yes I am. Because this isn't your, or Dad's, or Mom's, or anyone else's decision. It's mine. And technically, I didn't have to say shit to any of you. But guess what? I thought I'd have the fucking decency to tell you all, because you're my _family._ But not very many of you are actually acting like my family_, _because a _family_ supports each other. And your mom and my mom may have said they support me, but I know they don't."

Michelle ground her teeth angrily. She couldn't believe how unbelievably selfish her cousin was being. "While we're defining what a family is, you know what else a family does? They are sensitive to their relative's feelings. And let's just say if _my_ dad was shipped off to Vietnam, got shot in the fucking head, and lost his goddamn mind…_twice, _I wouldn't be joining the Army."

"Well, sometimes, families have to make sacrifices for each other. I don't ask for very much, so for once, I'd like to know I won't be disowned because I joined the fucking Army."

"Don't be looking for any support from me," she spat.

"Fine, then. Leave."

She didn't need to be told twice. She stormed out his room, slamming the door behind her. As she stopped in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, she collapsed against the doorframe, her head dropping into her hands.

She could really go for some apple pie right now.

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Michelle picked at the apple pie on her plate. It wasn't that the pie was bad; Aunt Ellie had brought some leftovers back from the diner and they made some of the best in Brooklyn. She just suddenly didn't want it anymore.

Perhaps she hadn't pulled it out of the refrigerator out of hunger, but to cheer her up. She could use it. Things hadn't exactly gone well the last couple days. Her boyfriend had a terminable disease, Max was joining the army, her aunt and uncle were fighting, she and Max were fighting, she might also have a terminable disease…could anything else go wrong?

"You alright there, luv?"

She turned and saw her father standing in the doorway, leaning comfortably against the frame. He gave her an easy smile, shuffling into the kitchen and sitting down next to her.

She sighed a little, then said: "I don't want Max to join the army."

That wasn't the only problem, but that was all she had courage to talk about for at the moment.

"Me either, 'Chelle. Me either," he agreed, reaching out his hand and rubbing circles on her back. "But her aunt is right. We can't stop 'im from what he wants to do."

"But…why? Why would he want to shoot innocent people and get blown up?"

"Now, I'm sure he doesn't want to do that, give him some credit…" He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm not sure why he wants to, but he does. And we have to respect that."

"But-"

"But nothing. He'll still be your cousin, even if he's wearing fatigues."

She rolled her eyes and groaned. She knew her dad was right, but she wasn't at a point where she wanted to admit it. Sitting in her stony silence, Jude found no reason to belabor the point. She knew what was right, he knew she did, but being the stubborn Michelle she was, it would take her a while to give in. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, trying to lighten the mood. He glanced down at the dessert she had barely touched.

"You, erm…going to eat that?" he asked with a flick of an eyebrow.

She fought a smirk. "I am now. Get your own."

Jude groaned and rolled his eyes, muttering an overdramatic "_Fine._" before getting up from the table and heading into the living room with a flounce.

"There's some in the fridge if you want some!" she called after him.

"I know, but that would require to me to get it out, get a plate, cut a piece…too much work," he responded.

She sighed in exasperation, but smiled. Eagerly taking a bite of the pie, she found it tasting better than it had five minutes ago.

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"It has been _too_ damn long."

"Mm…I know. Now shut up and help me get my pants off."

Max obliged, undoing the button on her jeans and unzipping them. Ellie slid them off with ease, giving her husband a long, sweet kiss on the lips in gratitude. During the lip-lock, his hands drifted down her body, eventually hoisting one of her bare legs to his hips and laying her down on the bed.

It was strange, but the one time they both ended up being in the mood was after their rough evening. Neither of them was sure what it came out of, but once they started there was no stopping them.

She played with the hem of his shirt until the urge to take it off was almost unbearable. He let her pull it off of him, returning his lips to hers after it was off. She could already feel her face getting hot and a bubbling sensation growing in the pit of her stomach. There was truth behind Max's words. It had been too damn long.

Ellie half-sighed, half-moaned and fluttered her eyes shut as her head lolled to the side. Max saw this as an opportunity, planting soft, barely-existent kisses down her neck. He had figured out the spots that made her melt over the years and he knew one place he could do no wrong was her neck.

There was a soft knock at the door and Jude saying, "El, the phone's for you."

Max growled in frustration and buried deeper into her neck, having no intention of allowing her to get up. Forcefully swallowing a moan, she replied, her voice cracking:

"Take…a message."

"Are you sure? The woman on the phone said it's important."

She groaned, partly out of irritation and partly because her husband was not making this any easier. He knew that she was likely to leave due to what Jude said, so he slid his hands underneath her shirt and started unhooking her bra.

"Tell her…" She let out a sharp cry as one of his hands moved down her body and slipped into her underwear. "…I'll call her back…"

The Englishman's features scrunched in confusion over Ellie's manic responses. He leaned in closer to the door, his hand resting on the door knob.

"Are you alright, El?" he asked with concern.

"_TAKE A GODDAMN MESSAGE_," both Max and Ellie screamed simultaneously. Their friend's hand flew off the handle and he immediately put his hands in the air and walked away. Knowing how precious "alone" time was to them, he was not about to interrupt it.

They both slumped together on the bed after they finished, panting and sweaty but unbelievably satisfied. Maybe this was all they had been looking for; a good, old-fashioned romp between the sheets. Perhaps they hadn't been sensitive to others in the house, and maybe they had scarred their son for life, but at this particular moment, neither of them could care less.

"Hey, Max…" Ellie mumbled, lifting her head briefly from his chest and resting her chin there instead.

"Mm?" he grunted in response, his eyes closed.

"I love you."

He opened his eyes and his lips twitched upwards in his signature lopsided smirk. Then he sat up, causing her to sit up also, and took her by the wrists. He looped her arms around his neck and gave her a kiss. She smiled through the kiss, taking this as "I love you, too."

When they broke apart, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked at him sincerely.

"I'm serious, you know. I know we haven't been the closest of couples lately, and…I just want you know that I can't imagine life without you."

He nodded and pulled her to him, gripping her tightly and kissing her temple. Max normally expressed his feelings through words; it was rare to find him speechless, however, when it came to serious situations like this, he normally didn't say much. And as sweet as his gestures were, Ellie occasionally wished he would say something back, just for her benefit. She worried sometimes that he didn't respond because the feelings weren't mutual.

As she fell asleep later against his rising and falling chest, troublesome images filled her mind. It wasn't a nightmare, more like a horrible slideshow of some sorts. She kept seeing her husband in the days before his deportment, both the first and second time. But as the dream progressed, she realized that it wasn't her husband at all, but her son. Then came the most vivid and frightening image: her son clad in Army greens, drowning in a never-ending pool of blood and severed body parts, brown eyes wide and full of fear as he struggled. It was no longer a slideshow as she could feel the wet blood between her fingers, hear every urgent splash of her drowning son, and smell the dreadful, potent stench of death. Her dream had become horrifically real.

She had to help him, she _had_ to help him, but she couldn't. It's as if there was a glass wall between her and Max and she couldn't just _stand_ there, but her body wouldn't move…_why_ wouldn't it move? She was losing him, oh _God_, she couldn't even see him anymore…

She woke with a start, her heart pounding and hand clutching a fistful of the sheets so forcefully that her knuckles were white. She slowly inhaled and exhaled and shut her eyes, telling herself over and over where she was, that Max was okay, that nothing had happened.

She glanced up at the elder of the two Max's, making sure she hadn't woken him. She hadn't, as his breathing was even and his eyes remained closed. She delicately laid her head back down and try to snuggle closer to him. She wanted so badly for someone to comfort her, to tell her it was alright, but the last thing she wanted was for her husband to worry. So, she tried to get back to sleep, pushing any thoughts of the Army out of her head.

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The next morning was a Saturday, to everyone's relief. Ellie woke up in her husband's arms, something that hadn't happened in a long time. She squinted as the rays of sunlight streamed through the windows, rolling out of Max's arms and stretching her arms towards the headboard. Her disturbance woke Max, who glanced blearily over at his wife and smiled.

"Morning," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning…" As soon as she was done stretching out, she returned to snuggling into his chest, interlocking her fingers in his. She sighed with content, wishing she could spend the rest of the morning like this.

"You must've taken the morning off…"

Her heart stopped and her eyes grew wide. She had actually meant to take the morning off, a rare occasion, but she had forgotten to call the diner.

"_Shit_," she muttered as she flew off of him and the bed. She immediately began to scamper around her bedroom, looking for the uniform she had tossed carelessly somewhere on the floor. Watching her frenzy, he rolled his eyes and slumped into the headboard.

"So much for that…" he grumbled. As she frantically pulled her waitress uniform over her head, she got stuck in the dress and began flailing around in despair, looking like a drunken, fabric-clad tree of some sort and making short, sporadic shrieks of frustration. It took all of his strength not to burst into hysterics. He got off the bed and caught her around the waist.

"Hold on, hold on, I'll help you…" he said, forcing her to stop. Carefully, he maneuvered her arms into the arm holes and her neck into the neck hole, eventually pulling it down over her head and smiling when her head popped through.

She heaved a sigh, straightening out her now wrinkled uniform with her hands. Then she looked up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "What I do without you?"

"You'd still be thrashing around and I'd still be laughing my ass off."

She gave him a playful slap, then returned to her scurrying, now searching for her shoes. Max groaned, and asked: "Why don't you just call and say you're taking the day off?"

Ellie chuckled bitterly as she slipped her feet into her shoes. "I might as well hand in my uniform if I did that. It's a bit late now anyway, considering I'm almost two hours late. I'm going to try to work until close so this won't come out of my wages."

He bit back a protest and only replied with: "Okay." As she grabbed her purse and looked like she was about to head out the door, he stopped her.

"Babe, you need to at least put on some deodorant or…brush your hair or something…"

"Max, I'm two hours late. I don't really care what I look like or smell like at this point."

"Yeah, but knowing you, you don't want to go to work looking like _that._" He took her by the shoulders and directed her in front of the mirror on their dresser, allowing her to get a good look at her frazzled appearance. She chewed her lip for a moment, then scowled.

"You're right. I'll at least wash up before I go."

She walked briskly into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and putting on deodorant as fast as humanly possible, she carefully pulled her hair into a tight knot. Giving herself one last look-over, she deemed that she didn't look great, but at least she looked presentable. It would have to do for today.

She headed back into her bedroom and, meeting her husband's eye, twirled around and said "Well?"

He grinned. "Much better."

"Good. Now, I've gotta split before my paycheck gets cut in half." She walked over to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and began to walk out the door. She stopped before she was out of the bedroom through, turning to him.

"Don't you have to work?" she questioned.

"My shift starts at one."

"Mmm…some of us actually do have to work nine to five."

"Hey, I technically work the same amount of hours as you do…it's just one to nine instead of nine to five…_workin' one to nine, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da…_" he began to sing, shaking his hips to his own tune. She snorted.

"I don't think Dolly would appreciate your cover of her song, and I've got to get to work." She shook her head in exasperation as she walked out of the room. Max exhaled heavily, his entire form slumping in defeat. Part of him had wished she had blown off work for the morning. Work, work, work…that's all she ever did anymore.

He shook his head and suddenly craved a pack of Marbolos.

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The phone in the kitchen rang. Michelle, who had been sitting at the table staring blankly at what was supposed to be her English essay, was partly relieved by the distraction. She stood up, dug the heels of her palms into her eyes for a moment, and sighed. She shuffled over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mrs. Feeney. It's Jake. May I speak to Michelle, please?"

She smirked. "You're talking to her."

"Oh."

"You can call my mom 'Lucy' by the way. Seriously. Actually, she'd prefer it if you did. We're not used to this 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' shit."

"Hey, don't hate. It's-"

"how I was raised," she finished for him with an eye roll. "Yeah, yeah. So what'd you call me for anyway?"

"Just to say…er, hi."

"Somehow I don't believe you."

He sighed shakily on the other end. "Okay, I'll cut the crap. Did you talk to your parents? About…you know?"

_Shit_.

"Michelle?"

"Uh, no…no, not yet."

He groaned. "'Chelle, you really can't put this off."

"I know, I know. I promise I'm trying, but…it's hard!"

"I know it is, but if you have it, you need to know as soon as possible. You don't want to wait until there's nothing you can do."

"I think I'd be able to connect the dots…" she muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing…I'll do it, okay? I promise."

"Soon?"

"Soon. Before I see you next."

"Okay." She could almost hear him relaxing. "I'm sorry if I sound like a nag. I just want you to be safe."

She tried to smile and let go of the screaming thoughts in her head. "I know…it's just hard for me."

"Believe me, I understand. Are you sure you don't want to me to do it with you?"

"No. This is something they need to hear from just me, I think."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you, too."

They both hung up.

"Well, it looks like you and Jake are back on the right track."

Michelle jumped about five feet in the air and nearly dropped the phone. When she regained her composure and turned around, her mother was standing in the doorway, laughing quietly.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you or anything."

"Yeah, well I'd appreciate it if people didn't listen to my conversations," she grumbled, secretly frightened about how much her mother had overheard.

"Sweetheart, I wasn't eavesdropping either. I caught maybe the last three sentences of your conversation. I just assumed it was him."

"Still…" she said, but she sighed inwardly with relief.

Lucy smiled at her. "You know that I trust you, right? You have your moments, but I know you're a smart girl and you won't get yourself into too much trouble. And I know that if you have problems, you'll ask for help and won't try to deal with them by yourself."

How ironic. The guilt churning in her stomach was unbelievable. She could only nod in response.

"Mom," she blurted out suddenly.

Her mother turned, looking at her expectantly. Just as soon as the courage had found her, it left her. She stuttered for a few moments, then sighed, shaking her head in defeat.

"Never mind."

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**It's short, I know. But I hated to keep you all waiting any longer.**

"**Hey, I technically work the same amount of hours as you do…it's just one to nine instead of nine to five…**_**workin' one to nine, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da…**_**" he began to sing, shaking his hips to his own tune. She snorted." – Yes, Max has a thing for Dolly Parton.**

**Please read and review, and I'll try to update sooner this time!**

**Much love**

**~TMOLM2010**


	7. Realizations and Rash Decisions

**I'm sorry. It's been forever, I know. I just hit an enormous writer's block and I'm trying very hard to get out of it.**

**Italics are generally thoughts, though you'll be able to tell when they're not.**

**Meanwhile, your reviews are always appreciated. :D**

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"Donavan, we need those plates up now! And could someone please tell me where the hell those grits are?"

"They're coming out in five, El!"

"Thanks, Charlie."

Ellie returned the notepad that was canvassed with her scribbled orders into the front pocket of her uniform and made her way back to the tables, effortlessly scooping up a pot of coffee as she passed the counter.

"Rigby, I need you get the next customer!" called out her boss, the general manager, from the cash register.

"Just…a…second," she mumbled, hastily filling up the empty cups at her table before setting the coffee pot back on the counter and scurrying over to the door.

"Welcome to Stacy's. Table for…?" she said, still looking over her shoulder to make sure the other tables were covered and not seeing her potential customer.

She heard a tinkling laugh, then an all-too familiar voice saying: "Good Lord, it's like a mad house in here. I don't think Busby's is ever this bad."

Ellie turned and standing in front of her was the last person she wanted to see. It was Valerie, looking especially dazzling this afternoon with snowflakes adorning her cascading blonde waves, her cheeks a rosy pink from the cold, and her body fashionably bundled in a form-fitting pea coat and a green scarf.

"You've got to be shitting me," she muttered, turning her back away from her, too weary to scream, punch, kick, or anything else to harm this beautiful blonde who seemed to refuse to get out of her life.

Valerie sighed inwardly. She had known it wasn't going to be easy and she didn't blame Ellie one bit. But she wanted to at least explain herself.

"Listen, El…" Valerie started, catching her arm.

"That's _Ellie_ to you." She shook off her hold vigorously.

"Ellie…I just want to talk. That's it. I know you don't have the best impression of me-"

"Hmm, I wonder why."

"Just _listen_ to me. You Carrigans have a tendency to just ignore anyone who has a second opinion," she retorted. Ellie sighed and chewed it over for a moment. Perhaps she was being a teensy bit unreasonable. She turned back to her slowly.

"What do you want?" she asked, tiredly putting her hands on her hips.

"Rigby!" cut in her boss. "Are you ever going to seat the damn customer or are you going to make her stand and eat?"

Ellie shut her eyes, mentally beating his fat, smug face into a bloody pulp. When she opened them, Valerie had a smirk playing at her lips, but it was an understanding one.

She led her to an empty table, instantly pulling out her notepad and a pen once the blonde was seated.

"Is there anything I can get you to drink?"

"No…Ellie, please sit. There's something I need to say. I didn't come here to eat."

Ellie shot a glance to her boss, who was now busying himself by hurling epithets at whomever the poor, frightened-looking teenager was working the register.

"Alright. But make it quick. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off Mussolini before I get fired."

She plopped into the cushy booth, resting an elbow on the table and placing her chin in her palm. Just looking at the pretty, but lined face and the weary brown eyes staring back at her caused an overwhelming amount of sympathy to wash over Valerie. It took a moment for her to recollect just how much this woman had been through in the last two decades and the fact she still stuck with the shitty job, the unpredictable husband, and the craziness of the city was frankly quite impressive.

"I wanted to apologize for the whole thing with Max. While last night was completely coincidental, the date a week or so ago wasn't and I should've known better. And I'll be perfectly honest; I had hoped he was still single when I saw him at the grocery store. But once I found out he was married, I knew he was off limits. Our "date" was completely innocent, just a few drinks-"

"Look, if you came here to reassure me that my husband wasn't cheating on me, I've been told so a million times and I'd really not rather be told again."

"…well, okay. But I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to cause any harm."

Ellie let out a shuddering sigh, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes.

"…it's not just you. Lately, I feel like I've been waiting for Max to tell me it's over. Nothing terrible has happened, but we've grown farther and farther apart and the last couple weeks haven't done anything to help reverse that. And I guess when you came in, I felt like that was it. That he was giving up. And yes…I did blow it out of proportion, but watching your fifteen-year marriage go up in flames isn't the best feeling in the world."

"And…" She stopped abruptly, groaning and shaking her head. She hadn't had the intention of opening up to this woman she barely knew and here she was, babbling about her problems as if they had been girlfriends for years.

"I'm sorry. You're not my psychiatrist." She gave a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I guess I should thank you for the apology…and…" she sighed, her smile growing just a little. "…I'm sorry for being a bitch. I haven't had the greatest morning."

"I can see that," Valerie replied with a sympathetic grin.

"_Rigby_," hissed her boss, who had been standing by the booth for quite some time. Ellie cursed quietly before looking up at him, trying to put on the most innocent face possible.

"I hate to break up your little…_pow-wow_," he spat, eyes widening for effect "but we've got about fifty customers who haven't been fed yet, so let's get back to work, shall we?"

"Sir, it was completely my fault," cut in Valerie. "I really needed to talk to Ellie and I was the one who pulled her away from her work."

The general manager's demeanor changed dramatically as he spoke to his potential customer. He gave her a pleasant smile.

"I appreciate your concern, ma'am, but-"

"Please." Thinking quickly, she gave him a solicitous smile and put her hand on his arm. "Don't punish her on my behalf. She deserves the utmost respect. I'm sure her dedication shows that she was taught by someone who _clearly_ has the same amount of dedication for his job." She raised an eyebrow suggestively and gave his arm a squeeze.

It worked like a charm. The manager was left tongue-tied, stuttering like a fool. Ellie could do nothing but roll her eyes. Her previous hatred for the woman had partly come out of jealousy and she knew it. There had been a time when she could seduce someone as easily as Valerie did. Not that she ever did.

Excluding, of course, the obvious exception.

Valerie assured him that she would let Ellie get back to work in no time and he left without another word. Ellie shook her head and sighed.

"I suppose I should thank you for that."

She laughed. "I'm surprised it worked."

"Mm, that's funny. I'm not at all."

"Hey, hey. I know I'm the one who's doing the apologizing here, but lighten up a bit."

Ellie chuckled with a bit more humor and slid out of the booth.

"Love to stay and chat, but…"she muttered to Valerie with a grim smile before getting back into the swing of the diner. Valerie sat there for a moment, knowing that while they had ended on a relatively good note, she hadn't fully convinced Ellie that she was innocent. And she understood.

After thinking for a moment, Valerie got her wallet from her purse, pulling out two twenty dollar bills and placing them on the table. Then she got the arm of a young waitress passing by.

"Can you make sure that Ellie gets this? She was my waitress." she asked, pushing the money across the table. The waitress shot her a confused glance as looked at the empty table.

"Sure…what's it for?"

"It's a tip." She got up from the booth, gathering her purse.

"But…ma'am, you didn't order anything."

"I know," she said with a dazzling smile.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"_Some will win…some will lose…Oh, the movie never ends…It goes on and on and on and on…Don't stop…Believin'…Hold on to the feelin'…Streetlight…people…"_

Max Sr. bopped his head along to the beat that was only audible in his head as he returned to his apartment after getting the mail. He had no idea why he had been singing this song to himself all morning; he hated the music that was popular these days. It was nothing like the gritty rock-and-roll that had been around when he was a kid.

_When I was a kid?!...Christ, Carrigan, you're starting to sound like an old geezer._

_Maybe because you_ are _an old geezer…_he added as a bitter afterthought.

Still, just because he was getting old didn't mean his taste in music had to suffer. Mind now completely focused on this ridiculously random tangent, he kicked off his shoes and rushed into the kitchen, sliding to a halt where the creaky old radio sat harmlessly on the counter.

He switched it on and began fiddling with the dials, making faces of varying disgust as he hit popular music stations, a talk show, and a country music station. Groaning in frustration, he gave it a smack and to his surprise, it landed on a good oldies station. A familiar tune crackled from the speaker and a smile spread across his face. He turned up the volume and sang along.

"_She's got the devil in her heart._

_But her eyes, they tantalize."_

He vaguely recalled that this was the song Sadie had sung on the night of his engagement party.

Christ Almighty, he _was_ getting old.

The song unfortunately brought the memory of the night he got engaged to the front of his mind, suddenly making him wistful. He remembered with a chuckle how Ellie had been pretty sloshed and how they had danced on the ledge of the rooftop anyway. If he had brought up the idea of having a party on a rooftop in the dead of winter nowadays, she would've looked at him like he was crazy.

As much as he assured his wife he still loved her as much as he did when they were twenty; and he did, he missed the Ellie he had fallen so hard for. There was a time when her brow was not constantly creased with worry and she wasn't tired all the time. And frankly, there was a time when she didn't stress out about every little damn thing that went wrong in their lives.

They could never go back to the way they used to be. But if there was one thing he wanted, he wished he could see Ellie relax and be her old self for a solid twenty-four hours. No bills, no job, no kids, just Ellie.

Speaking of bills, he ought to look at the mail he had picked up. Still humming along with the song, he first got himself a can of Diet Coke out of the refrigerator, then with a graceful sweep of his hand, swiped the envelopes from off the kitchen table. Cracking open the can and taking a sip, he glanced casually at the top letter.

The words printed neatly in the return address space made his entire body go numb.

A million thoughts raced through his head as he briefly scanned who the letter was addressed to. The Army couldn't possibly be sending a draft letter. There wasn't even a war going on, let alone a draft. Max also realized that his son hadn't enlisted yet, as far as he knew. Even if he had, they wouldn't be sending a letter. He was too young.

Vaguely, he felt something wet on his left arm. He had clenched his fist so hard around his pop can that it had sent a fountain of Diet Coke splashing onto him. He hadn't even noticed.

_Chill out, Carrigan. For fuck's sake, it's just a letter…_his mind scolded him.

He set down his pop can on the table and slowly opened the letter. Scanning it quickly, he realized that it hadn't been for his son. It was for him. It was an invitation, telling him he should head out to Washington D.C. and see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this Memorial Day.

They must have known he hadn't gone to the dedication of the memorial three years earlier.

He gave an exasperated, but somewhat relieved sigh as it was clear this letter was nothing to worry about. The clock on the wall caught his eye and he swore loudly when he remembered that he had to get to work. Crumpling the letter into a ball, he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans and scampered toward the door, knowing there'd be hell to pay if he was late.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Michelle bit her lip, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Then, with a sigh, she typed in _symptoms of HIV/AIDS_ into the search engine and waited for the page to load.

After her conversation with Jake, she was desperate to find any way out of this situation. If she could know for sure whether or not she had AIDS without telling her parents, then nobody had to know what had happened. Surely if she didn't have any of the symptoms, she wouldn't have to get tested. So she hopped on the subway to the Brooklyn Public Library to use the computers.

The page came up with several options. She scrolled through them, looking for the one that would give her the information she needed. She eventually clicked on the first link, again, waiting for the page to load.

As she waited, her fingers drummed nervously against the hardwood desk she sat at. Even if she could confirm that she didn't have AIDS by herself, the small, nagging voice in her head kept telling her she should tell her parents anyway.

She didn't know why she was so afraid. Her parents had their misgivings about her having sex, but not to the point where they would kick her out of the house if they found out. They wanted her to be safe, and they would want to know if there was any reason to worry.

No matter how many times she told herself this, she couldn't stir up the courage to say anything. She would like to think it was because she didn't want to hurt any of her family, but she knew she wasn't that selfless. No, it was some deep, personal reason that she simply couldn't put into words. But whatever it was, it was enough.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Michelle woke from her reverie and looked over her shoulder to see the young woman who worked behind the front desk standing behind her. She seemed genuinely concerned.

The teenager shook her head slowly. "No, no. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I couldn't help but notice that you've been sitting here for a while looking a little confused."

Michelle tried to give her an easy, relaxed smile. "I found what I was looking for. But thank you."

The young woman's eyes flickered to the computer screen. Judging by the expression on her face, it was clear she had become even more concerned by what she saw. But she only gave her a slight nod and turned away.

Michelle heaved a shaky sigh and returned to her research. As she scanned through the page, relief started to creep through her veins. She had none of these symptoms. She was safe. She was_ safe_…

She continued to read the page and a rapid sense of dread replaced the relief. "_Many people are unaware that they are infected with HIV because they do not experience any symptoms."_

_Shit._

She groaned and dropped her head to her hand. There was no loophole. She would have to get tested if she wanted to be completely sure.

A warm hand touched her shoulder and she jumped. The hand immediately shrank away from her. Michelle whipped around and it was just the young woman who worked behind the desk again. Eyebrows creased with worry, she looked at her seriously through her glasses.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just…wanted to make sure you were alright. It seems like something's wrong."

"No. Nothing's wrong. Everything's alright," Michelle snapped. She knew she was just trying to help, but her persistence was starting to get annoying.

The woman clasped her hands together, not sure what to do.

"Look, I've…I've never known anyone who has…AIDS, but…I know they have support groups all over the place…in case you need help."

With a polite nod, the woman walked swiftly back over to her desk. Michelle chewed this thought over. She didn't know if people at a support group could tell her whether or not she had the disease, but that might be something she could go to with Jake. Hopefully as a friend rather than someone also in need of support…

She sighed.

_Is this something all teenagers deal with or did fate just say 'Gee, that one is having too good of a life. Let's fuck it up for her?'_

The grandfather clock in the library chimed five times. She had better head back home before anybody got suspicious.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Hey, 'Chelle. Find everything yeh needed at the library?"

"…not exactly," she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I found everything."

"Good," Jude said with a smile as he returned to the sketch pad that was in his lap. Michelle dropped her purse by the door and kicked off her shoes, walking into the living room and plopping herself into a couch.

"What did yeh need at the library anyway?"

"The computers. Just…doing some research for school."

"What sort of research?"

"Jesus, is this an investigation? Or can't I just go to the library without all my motives being questioned?"

"Calm down, luv. I was just curious."

As if she couldn't be in a worse mood, Max Jr. came from the kitchen, a bowl of potato chips in his hands. Not forgetting a word of their conversation the previous evening, Michelle glowered at him.

"Afternoon," she greeted curtly.

He hadn't noticed her. He looked up from his snack then gave a little nod of acknowledgment.

"'Sup."

"Sold your sorry ass to the government yet?"

"Ooh. I'm hurt."

"You know, maybe everyone wouldn't be as mad about this if you actually gave a shit about other people's feelings."

"Last time I checked, I told everyone that I was planning on enlisting. I'm pretty sure that's 'giving a shit about other people's feelings.' I'm also pretty sure we've had this conversation before, so next time you feel like acting like a bitch, at least get some new tactics."

"Max…" Jude warned tentatively. He really hated getting in the middle of these fights and it was a feeling shared by his brother-in-law. Normally, the two of them left the intervening to the women, but since neither of them was around, he didn't have much choice. To his dismay, both of them seemed to ignore his existence.

"You know what? I _hope_ you join the Army. I _hope_ you get your ass shipped off to some God-forsaken country, and I hope you come back as fucked up as your dad did. Because when you can't get through a goddamn thunderstorm without going out of your mind, I won't feel sorry for you."

"Hate to burst your bubble, Michelle, but I could really care less."

She shrieked in anguish. "I am so sick of your bullshit! I can't stand it!"

She leapt to her feet and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Max set his snack down on the lamp stand next to him and shook his head.

"You know what?" he started to himself "I'm done with this."

He headed determinedly towards the door, stopping only to get his coat.

"Where are you going?" Jude asked.

"To the recruitment office. I'm enlisting so I can get in as soon as I'm out of high school."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jude was out of his seat immediately and caught his nephew's arm just as he was about to walk out the door.

"I know why you're doing this, Max, but it's not for the right reasons-"

"Fuck you!" he said, indignantly pulling out of his hold. "I'm joining the army because I _want_ to join the goddamn army. It's about time that you and the rest of the world got over that."

He was gone before Jude could stop him. The Englishman groaned and fell back against the closed door. The teen has misunderstood his words; Jude had merely wanted him to wait before he made any decisions, but he probably would've gone anyway.

How he was going to break this news to Max and Ellie was another story.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Rigby! You've got a phone call."

Ellie filled the glass of her customer and wiped her brow. She was surprised that she was getting a phone call at 10:00 on a Sunday night. It must be important. She walked over to the register, thanked Frank, the bartender who had informed her, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," said her husband on the other line.

"Hey. Everything okay?"

He sighed heavily on the line. "…um…."

"What's going on?"

"Well…Max went to the recruitment office this afternoon."

She paused. "…I thought he was going to think about it before he did anything."

"Apparently Michelle said something that pissed him off and that gave him the sudden impulse, I guess…I don't know. Jude was there."

"Is he home?"

"He's out with some friends right now, but I think he'll be back in an hour or so. I haven't seen him yet."

She bit her lip and pushed the wisps of hair out of her face. "…are you okay?"

His sigh answered her question. No, he wasn't. "…shit, I don't know, El. I've been better, I guess."

"You want me to come home right now?"

"Well, of course my answer to that is yes, but you do what you need to. I'm fine."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up and heaved a sigh. Two days didn't seem like very much time to think, but then again, Max had said that Michelle had said something that pissed him off. Her son wasn't normally one to make rash decisions, even when he was angry, so this must have been something bad.

It was hard to get through the last hour or so of work. There were two general managers to the diner and it was just her luck that the one she actually liked was working the last shift. Seeing something was clearly wrong, he let her off a half an hour early. She thanked him gratefully and headed home as fast as she could.

When she got to the apartment, everyone was in bed but her son. He sat on the couch, elbows resting on his knees and an Army pamphlet in his hands. He looked up at her arrival, and though his face remained expressionless, she could see a twinge of guilt lighting up his eyes.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly.

"Hey."

She set her purse down and took off her coat, hanging it up before she walked into the living room.

"I heard you enlisted."

He shrugged a little. "Sort of. I can't enlist since I'm not 18…nor do I have seem to have parental consent," he said, his eyes hardening as they flickered up to her face. "They wrote my name down and gave me some information, but I'm not bound to any contract yet."

"That's good."

He rolled his eyes and started to get up. "Jesus Christ…"

"Max," she began, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I'm not going to yell you, because I'm not mad. None of us are mad…well, Michelle may be an exception, but the rest of us aren't mad."

Keeping her hand on his shoulder, Ellie sat down next to Max on the couch. She slid her hand to his other shoulder, her arm now resting comfortably across them.

"Has Dad told you any stories…about the war?"

Her son shook his head.

"Your father kept everything a secret for so long…it took him almost three years after the war was over for me to even ask anything without him getting defensive."

Max looked up at her, now somewhat curious. "Has he told you any stories?"

A small smile came to her lips. "Just one. And I think it's about time you heard it."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

**Again, I'm really sorry for the super long wait, but I just couldn't figure out where exactly to go with this chapter for a while and I wanted to keep it the same length as most of the chapters.**

**Hope it was satisfying enough for you.**

**Please read and review!**


	8. Lay Down Your Arms, Soldier of Love Pt 1

**God.**

**I am so sorry.**

**It's been forever.**

**And I know that the updates haven't been coming quickly, but it may take me even longer to update with school.**

**I will try my hardest to update as often as I can.**

**This chapter and the next chapter were originally only one chapter, but I thought it was just too long and I wanted to give you guys an update.**

**Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you sure this is okay with Dad?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think he would understand. It's not something I would bring up randomly, but if he asks, tell him the truth."

Max Jr. nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Okay. Well, this happened the first time he was there…"

* * *

Max looked skyward, tapping his foot and sighing impatiently as Nurse Rose Lennon finished wrapping his arm with a bandage. She gave him a playful slap when he sighed again, flashing a grin. Max felt a grin tugging at his own lips. He had absolutely no shame in giving her hell.

His platoon was currently stationed just across from an American hospital in Hanoi. When they had first gotten there, just about every soldier in his platoon had swarmed the hospital, using little cuts and scrapes to get time with a nurse.

He knew he was supposed to stop them. They needed to focus on the enemy, not some nurse's beautiful ass. But like the rest of them, he was dying to hear a woman's voice in a language he understood and a few quickies here and there wouldn't be so bad either. And to be quite honest, that was the best morale booster he could think of.

"_Aren't you done _yet?" he groaned, rolling his eyes.

"_I'm tempted to rip the whole thing off and say you can wrap it yourself,_ _Sergeant_. _But even I'm not heartless enough to watch that."_

"_Are you implying I can't wrap a goddamn bandage…_Nurse?_" _

Her green eyes flickered to his, a perfectly shaped brow raised. With that, he ripped off the bandage and pushed her out of the way. She hesitated, but then raised her hands in defeat and took a step back, clearly ready to be impressed.

It wasn't hard at first, but as he tried to wind tighter, the bandage kept coming loose. He grunted with frustration. A smirk was growing on Rose's full pink lips and he was well aware. This only added fuel to his fire.

After lots of missed tries, she finally sauntered over to his side, gently took his hand and pulled it off the bandage.

"_Leave it to someone who knows what they're doing, honey,"_ she cooed in the most sugary-sweet tone she could muster.

He muttered something under his breath, but obliged. Rose grinned from ear to ear as she quickly wrapped the wound and kept the bandage in place with a piece of tape. He looked at her with incredulity, seeing as it took her mere seconds when before it had been at least five minutes before she was halfway through.

Noticing his dubious stare, she shrugged and said with a smile: _"You're fun to annoy."_

He scowled, but she gave him a sweet kiss for his troubles.

_She really shouldn't have done that…_ he thought as he pulled her towards him by the hips so that she rested between his legs, deepening this kiss as he did so.

It had been so long since he had fucked, let alone touched a woman; an American one, that is, and it was getting to the point where he couldn't ignore his raging hormones.

When they broke away, she smiled sweetly and winked, running a hand through his hair.

"_Hope you don't have a girlfriend, Carrigan."_

Ouch. He winced. He had found that any time a word dealing with home was mentioned it literally felt as though someone was twisting a knife around his heart.

_Ellie_. Just her name made it hard for him to breathe. A hand went involuntarily to his chest, rubbing it tenderly as the pain pulsed through him.

Rose frowned at his expression and took a step back, putting hand on her hip. _"I'm sorry…didn't know I was hitting a sore spot."_

He offered up a small smile best he could. _"'S alright, babe. You didn't know."_

She smiled again and that was enough for the pain to momentarily ebb away. He cupped her face and closed the gap between them for another kiss, thinking maybe he could forget all together again.

* * *

"Weren't you mad when he told you?" Max Jr. asked tentatively.

Ellie sighed and smiled contritely. "Oh, I was mad as hell. But I understood…or at least tried to. Besides, at that point we had only been dating for three days, so I guess I should've expected that to happen anyway."

He chewed his lip, trying to pick his words carefully. "…did it ever happen again?"

"Oh yeah. It must've happened at least five times…and they weren't all American nurses, either."

"What did you do?"

"Well…it wasn't like he didn't feel guilty…and yes, I would've preferred that he hadn't done that, but you also have to understand the situation he was in. I was dealing with bigger problems anyway…"

"Me," Max said with a bit of a smile.

Ellie kissed the top of his head and squeezed his shoulder. "Yes. You."

"So…that's the story? Dad knocked up some hot nurse?"

"No, no, no. We're just beginning…"

* * *

Considering the situation, Max was a pretty lucky guy.

He was stationed right next to a hospital full of hot, horny nurses. One in particular happened to be someone who would listen and take care of him. There weren't any major threats at this point, so it didn't look like they were leaving anytime soon.

He was still in hell, but it was hell's paradise as far as he was concerned.

When it was late, he would sneak out of his camp and meet Rose in the back alley of the hospital. Vietnamese streets were dirty and dank, but it gave them some sort of privacy. If the head nurse was feeling especially kind, she would let the nurses and their soldiers use the storage room, but that was rare. She didn't like her nurses to become emotionally attached, especially since the life-expectancy was so low. The storage room also had super thin walls, so really, it was better outside.

"_Tell me about New York,"_ she insisted in between kisses.

There came that sickening ache again. He swallowed the thick bile that coated his throat.

But he would indulge her.

"_It's crazy, man…"_ he started, pulling back only to play with the ruby red hair that fell around her shoulders. _"People everywhere, parties, booze, weed, sex…it's everything in one city."_

"_Mm…sounds like fun."_

"_It is fun, but it gets kind of overwhelming, you know? Sometimes I wish I could just…get away from it. For five minutes or something. Somewhere that's not covered with pavement. Somewhere that's green."_

"_Central Park?" _she questioned.

"_Nah…there are always a lot of kids there…no, I mean some place that's totally secluded. A field, lots of tress, a pond, maybe, I don't know."_

"_What would you do there?"_

"…_I dunno. Just…exist, I guess. Sometimes in a city that big you don't always feel like you exist. You gotta find yourself again before you can get back in the mix."_

Rose smiled and pressed her forehead to his. _"Maxwell Carrigan, though you are an arrogant, womanizing bastard, you are surprisingly insightful."_

"_Who says an arrogant, womanizing bastard can't be insightful?"_

They both chuckled.

"_So tell me, Miss Rosie…"_ he started. _"What about you? Tell me about…er…"_

"_Montgomery, Alabama,_" she finished for him. _"It's really not that exciting."_

"_Well, you can at least tell me about that necklace you always wear. What's with design?"_

"_It's weird, I know,"_ she replied, pulling away and fingering the odd, twisted pendent as she spoke. _"But I've had it ever since I can remember. My mom said when I was little I found this on the ground when my daddy and I were taking a walk along the road. Apparently, I just wouldn't let it go, so my daddy made it into a necklace so I wouldn't lose it."_

"_Huh. And they never figured out why you wanted a scrap piece of metal?"_

"_Nope. But I like it. Especially now…it reminds me of home."_

"_Some of us don't _want _to be reminded of home…_" he muttered, the pain returning.

"_What was that?"_

"_Nothing…hey, be quiet for a second."_

Max had caught wind of some commotion coming from in front of the hospital. He peered down the alley as he tried to see what was going on. He could clearly see people moving, people with guns in their hands, but he could also distinctly hear a foreign tongue.

"_What is it?"_ she asked.

"_I don't know. Could be VC. I'm gonna go check it out. You wait here."_

She obliged and he jogged quietly down the alley. He stopped just as he was about to come around the corner to keep himself concealed. It was a group of Vietcong soldiers alright, a few of them standing on the steps. Max noticed one of the soldiers putting something small and round down on the top step and doing something to it. As soon as he did, the soldiers quickly got off the steps and ran about ten yards away.

"_Shit!_" he exclaimed, eyes wide as he realized what was going to happen. He whirled around and began running back to Rose. Just as he was about to call her name, the grenade went off.

The entire front of the hospital exploded, flames and smoke spiraling rapidly towards the sky and debris flying everywhere. The force of the explosion sent him toppling to his hands and knees.

The hospital was being ambushed.

As soon as it was physically possible, he got on his feet and darted down the alleyway, tripping over the rubble that was strewn all over the narrow street and squinting through the smoke that had clouded the entire area.

"_Rose! Rose, can you hear me? Rose!"_ he called out.

It would be hard to hear anything. Pandemonium erupted as screaming nurses and patients tried to flee the building. The Vietcong were shouting them down, trying to capture anyone they could.

"_Rose! Rose!"_

"_Max!"_ cried out her strained voice about ten paces away. The anguish in her voice caused him to quicken his pace, waving the smoke out of his way and trying to find her in the mess.

Finally, he came to her. She was mostly unharmed with the exception of a nasty-looking gash on her left arm and a few scratches on her face. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates and tears were starting to trickle out of them. Max had never seen her so frightened before. He kneeled to her level and took her face in his hands.

"_Are you alright?"_

She hesitated.

"_Are you alright?!"_ he reiterated, almost shouting. There was no time.

"_Yes! Yes…I'm fine."_ He gripped her face tightly, looking at her with blazing, terrified eyes.

"_Listen, I'll get you out of here. But you've got to promise me once we get out of the alley that you'll run."_

"_What about the others-"_

"_Just run. If they see you, you're dead. Promise me you'll run."_

After a moment of uncertainty, she nodded. He helped her to her feet. Hands clasped together, they ran out of the alley.

It was a horrific scene. Patients and nurses were pouring out of the hospital, clutching severely burned limbs and crying in agony. VC soldiers were capturing people left and right, beating them senseless or shooting them. They were making their way into the burning building in pairs.

"_Oh God…Oh God…" _Rose whimpered, her voice cracking as she surveyed the scene.

"_Rosie, you've got to run,"_ Max shouted, pushing her away.

"_Max-"_

"_Just go! There's no time!"_

With a last desperate look at the hospital, she scampered off towards the city. He sprinted back towards his camp, glad to see that his soldiers had woken up from the explosion and were frantically preparing for battle.

"_Move it, move it, move it! I want every one of your sorry asses out there in two minutes, do you hear me?"_

"_Sir, yes, sir!"_

Privates rushed past him in a long train, the lieutenant at the end. He stopped, saluted, and Max followed suit.

"_Carrigan, we'll do what we can, but if we start losing people, we'll have to retreat."_

"_But-"_

"_No if, ands, or buts, Sergeant. We can't afford to lose people in little battles like these."_

"_There are good people in there – some of our own!"_ Max raged, nostrils flaring with infuriation. _"We can't just leave them."_

"_Sometimes people get left behind. I thought that you would've figured that out by now."_

"_We can't do that!"_ he bellowed with fury.

"_I can do whatever the hell I want, Carrigan! And last time I checked, you are not a five-star general so you have no right to order me around. You will lead your platoon to get out as many as possible, but if we start losing people, we are high-tailing it out of there. Do you understand?"_

"_Sir, yes, sir_," Max spat back in response. This was one of the few times he wished he was a higher-ranked officer.

The two of them rushed out to the scene, where some soldiers were running into the burning building and others were attacking VC soldiers. Things were starting to look better until a slew of fresh Vietcong charged in from the city, guns at the ready and shooting down anyone in their path.

The lieutenant shot him a look.

"_We can take them. I know we can."_

"_Don't lie to me, Sergeant. I'm not stupid. If you want to save this hospital, you better come up with some pretty damn good ideas."_

"_Max!"_

Rose was standing at the front of the building where there should've been a wall. It was now a large, gaping hole ringed with flame. Another nurse was cradled in her arms. He sprinted over to her.

"_I thought I told you to run!" _he shouted as he took the nurse of out of her arms and handed her to a soldier behind him.

"_I couldn't…."_

"_You can't stay here. We're outnumbered."_

"_What about you? And your platoon?"_

Shots fired in their direction. Max leapt into the building, took Rose by the shoulders, and pushed the two of them behind one of the few-standing walls in one fell swoop.

He turned to her seriously, his hands still gripping her shoulders. _"Rose, you know we would all just love to run away. But we can't do that. You know better than that."_

She shrugged his hands off her shoulders indignantly. _"I want to help, Max. You need the extra bodies; there are others, nurses who could help. We may not be able to shoot a gun, but we can save a life. I am not leaving you here for your own ridiculous, suicidal glory. " _

His expression hardened at her words. Why the fuck couldn't she understand he didn't _want_ to stay here? Hell, he normally would've been the first one on the run. But once you were in the Army, whether you liked it or not, there was a certain sense of duty that came with it. And sometimes, you just couldn't ignore it.

This was one of those times.

Looking into her eyes, any fear she had earlier was gone. Her eyes blazed with determination and he knew she wasn't going to leave.

He heaved a sigh and glared at her.

"_Fine. Dig your own goddamn grave. But the second we start retreating, you _have _to run or you won't stand a chance."_

His eyes softened. He was pleading now. _"Please…just do that much for me."_

She nodded, then gave him a quick, hard kiss.

A bullet whizzed past them, hitting the wall just inches from Rose's head. Max whipped around and pinned her to the shaky foundation, clutching his M-16. As soon as he felt the trigger glide over his index finger, he fired incessantly until it looked like the visible threat was gone.

"_Stay close, I'm sure they're everywhere."_

She clutched his arm as they made their way through what was once the front lobby. She was sure the only reason they hadn't fallen through the floor was due to the debris that was piled up everywhere. A few more shots were fired at them, but most of the Vietnamese soldiers in the building had been eliminated.

The back half of the hospital, where all the patients were, was mostly still intact. That wasn't to say it wasn't a disaster zone. Trails of blood and bullet holes scarred the walls. A few dead nurses and patients lay at their feet, but most of the patients were still in their beds. Some nurses were hidden under the beds and others were crouching behind the big desk.

After surveying the area, Max turned to Rose. "_Alright. Here's what you've got to do. Gather anyone you can…anyone who can walk and use them to get these guys out. I'm sure the VC have gotten wind that most of their soldiers in here are dead, so they're likely to be coming in soon. I'll take care of them. Whatever you do, don't stop moving."_

Just as she nodded, there was an onslaught of bullets headed in their direction. He pulled her out of the way, then shouted _"Go!" _before he whirled around and began to take out the enemy.

The next ten minutes were a whirlwind of bullets, ash, and moving bodies. The smoke was so thick he couldn't see his own gun. He had no idea how he managed to not get hit, as bullets flew by him so close he could feel them brush his uniform. He could vaguely see outlines of five or six people desperately trying to make their way towards the front with soldiers in their arms, but he didn't know which one was Rose.

The gunfire only increased as more Vietcong made their way into the burning building. Another grenade went off, which sent a giant piece of debris hurdling towards Max and pinning him to the ground. As he struggled against the weight, blood seeped from his right arm and a searing pain shot through it. It must be broken.

He chuckled to himself. This was the same arm Rose had wrapped earlier. So much for that.

But his broken arm was the least of his problems right now. If the Vietcong didn't come in and shoot a bullet through his head, he was sure the piece of cement on top of him would crush him. He kept about an inch of space between the debris and his ribcage, but he was tiring fast.

He cried desperately for help over and over, but his calls went unanswered. His platoon must have retreated. Anybody else around must be either captured or dead.

He had been left behind.

For twenty minutes, he fought with the idea of letting the cement crush him, but he knew it would be double the pain he was experiencing now. He might as well hold out as long as he could.

Good thing he did. Finally, he heard the faint steps of one or two people approaching the area. He didn't hope – it could only be Vietcong. At least it would be fast.

Lo and behold, it wasn't Vietcong, but a dirt-covered Rose and another nurse. The second he recognized her face, he called to her. She and the other nurse were at his side in a second.

She offered up the smallest of smiles. _"Thought I told you to leave it to the people who knew what they were doing, Sergeant."_

His body shook with a mixture of laughter and tears of relief. The two managed to get the piece of debris off of him. They helped him gingerly to his feet with use of his good arm. Rose noticed his twisted and mangled limb and smirked.

"_How's that bandage working for you?" _

Max was too tired to come up with a decent comeback. Slinging the other arm around her shoulders, they made their way slowly towards the front.

Suddenly, gunfire came out of nowhere. The three of them dropped to their knees, but the bullets only increased. Rose's eyes darted from his own to the M-16 slung around his body. He caught on to her train of thought.

"_Rosie, no…you don't stand a chance."_

"I_ know how to fire a goddamn gun, Max. I grew up in Alabama, remember? Give it to me. At least one of us has to get out of here alive."_

She didn't wait for any disagreement as she quickly slipped the strap off his head and over her own. She looked seriously at the other nurse.

"_Get him out." _

She nodded vigorously and took him by his bad arm, forcing him to follow.

As soon as they stood up, the snipers appeared. The young nurse became a human shield as they ran as fast as they possibly could towards the front, taking him in her arms as they did so.

The distinct sound of metal hitting flesh rung through the air. She let out a sharp cry and staggered.

It was his turn to become the human shield. There was no time to stop. Clutching each other for support, the two finally managed to get out. The area was desolate, but Max could hear the din of people down the road. The platoon hadn't left.

They stumbled to the camp, where they were both immediately taken to the platoon doctor. His arm was in terrible shape, but Max was just happy he wouldn't have to get it amputated. Other than that and a few bruised ribs, he was fine.

Luckily, the nurse who had led him out wasn't mortally wounded. She had been hit in the leg, but hadn't lost too much blood. She would be fine in a week or so.

But Rose…

She hadn't come back. A few soldiers had run back to the hospital site when gunfire was heard again, but now an eerie silence fell over the swampy area.

"_Private,"_ Max said to one of them, grabbing his arm as he walked by his bed. _"Has anyone come back from the hospital? A nurse?"_

"_No, sir. I didn't see anyone."_

His face hardened with worry. Rosie; sassy, beautiful, southern Rosie, wasn't supposed to die in Vietnam.

He was.

He was one of the thousands of nameless soldiers whose supply was depleted and replenished as if it were a stock room.

But American nurses in Vietnam…they were supposed to be the ones who saved the soldiers. The ones who did their work and went home unscathed.

After a half an hour, he couldn't stand it anymore. Slowly, he got to his feet. He knew he shouldn't be doing this; morphine was pulsing through his veins to help with the pain in his arm. But he couldn't wait any longer; what if she were trapped under something like he had been?

He staggered out of the tent and made his way out of the camp. The lieutenant stood at the edge of the base and sent him a stern glance.

"_The hell do you think you're going, Sergeant? You're in no shape to be dicking around."_

Max ignored him, knowing full well if he explained, he would be stopped.

"_Carrigan! You get your sorry ass back here and answer me!"_

As the lieutenant realized the man wasn't going to listen as he continued up the road, he groaned and pulled over the nearest private.

"_Follow him and make sure he doesn't kill himself."_

"_Sir, yes, sir,"_ mumbled Private Johnson, who kept about five feet between him and Max as he trailed him to the hospital.

The hospital now had no more standing walls, the whole building a smoldering pile of debris and bodies. Max stumbled through it, peering downwards looking for any signs of life.

Something shiny caught his eye. He dropped delicately to his knees, careful not to lose his balance. He grasped the shiny object and pulled it from the rubble.

His heart began to pound. It was Rose's necklace. She had never taken it off.

Again, his gaze fell to the place in the rubble where he found the necklace, seeing if there was anything else that would lead him to her. Unfortunately, after digging around with his fingers, he did find something. Her lifeless hand.

"_Shit_…" he mumbled, frantically pulling the damaged pieces of building off of her as fast as he could. A small, but insistent voice in the back of his mind reminded him that she must have been under this for at least an hour if not more, and that it was likely she was already dead.

His pace quickened as the voice grew more adamant. He couldn't feel anything but need to hurry. He could barely breathe the air around him. The only part of his body that felt in sync with his brain were his hands, a furious blur moving piece after piece from Rose's body.

He knew well before he moved the last piece that she was dead. Her face was one of the first things he uncovered. A flood of relief mixed with anguish washed over him as he saw the clean, neat bullet hole that rested right between her eyebrows. At least it had been quick.

Once the last piece was removed, he bent over with exhaustion, resting his hands on his knees, panting. Then with a quick heave, he vomited.

Private Johnson was immediately at his side, a steady hand resting on his shoulder.

"_You alright, Serg?"_

Max, feeling as though he had been sucker punched, remained doubled over and dug his forehead into his thighs.

He chuckled ruefully. _"I've been better, Private."_

"_That's a shame about that nurse, sir. A real shame."_

It was his initial instinct to give the soldier a piece of his mind. It was more than a _shame_ that Rose would never go back to Alabama alive. Rose, who wasn't supposed to die, would go home in a body bag, just like one of them. That was more than a damn shame.

But he glanced around, seeing the body parts of fallen soldiers and hospital staff peeking out through bits of rubble. And to that, he only sighed, nodded his head and said:

"_Yeah…it is a real shame."_

* * *

An uncomfortable silence fell between the mother and son.

"Wow," Max eventually breathed.

"What?"

"Dad just doesn't seem like the 'hero' type, you know?"

A small smile twitched at the corners of Ellie's mouth. "He keeps saying that it wasn't heroic; that he could've done more…" She shook her head. "I think he's nuts."

"Yeah…so…is that it?"

She sighed heavily. "Unfortunately not, and this is where it gets hard."

"Keep going. I want to know what happened."

"Alright. Well, they had to relocate the platoon, of course, seeing as the base by the hospital was no longer safe…"

* * *

Max rubbed the cloth slowly back and forth against the outer shell of his gun.

Back and forth…back and forth…

"_Serg…Lieutenant said we're about to move out…" _said Private Johnson, standing in the opened flaps of the tent.

The sergeant didn't answer. He made no movement to indicate that he had heard the private, just his hand continually moving back and forth as he cleaned his gun.

Back and forth…back and forth…

"_Sergeant...Max…?" _

His hand and heart stopped at the sound of his name.

It had been so long since somebody had called him that. The last person who had called him that was…

A searing pain pulsed through his heart. The combination of remembering who he hadn't saved at the hospital and the fact that his name reminded him of home was almost too much to bear.

"_Where are we going, Private?"_ he asked, his voice hoarse and ragged.

Private Johnson furrowed his brows in confusion. _"To the village, sir...there's supposed to a major Vietcong leader hiding out there…might even been the one who led the attack on the hospital…I thought Lieutenant had told you-"_

"_Vietcong leader, you said."_

"_Yes, sir."_

He stood up slowly, letting cloth fall out of his hand to the ground. Something was in it, and it glinted as the sun hit it.

"…_sir, if you don't mind me asking, what's in the cloth?" _Private Johnson questioned.

Silence.

"…_sir?"_

Suddenly, Max whipped around. He cocked his gun once, then looked his private seriously in the eye.

"_Alright. Let's blow some motherfucking gooks to kingdom come."_

"_Y-yes, sir,"_ Johnson responded, standing at attention as he brushed by him.

Something was up. Max was one of the few sergeants who rarely used the term "gook" or "Nami" to describe the enemy. To be honest, Johnson knew full well that Max was a pacifist hippie who had been thrown into this whole mess against his will. So hearing him say that set off a warning bell.

Looking behind him to make sure he wasn't coming back, Johnson entered the tent and walked over to where the cloth lay on the ground. He knelt down, getting a better look at what shiny thing had been in the cloth.

It was a necklace with an odd, twisted pendent. The metal was still warm.

* * *

"_**Somewhere that's not covered with pavement. Somewhere that's green."**_** – Yes, this is a shameless reference to "Little Shop of Horrors." :D**

**Please review!**


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